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A ideia da deputada municipal da Moita, eleita pelo PAN, era defender a dignidade e o bem-estar dos cavalos, mas acabou a ser acusada apresentar uma recomendação xenófoba. Em causa as passagens da proposta em que Fátima Dâmaso fazia referência a uma etnia que não respeita estes animais - embora nunca tivesse referido a palavra ciganos. A proposta de recomendação sobre proteção dos equídeos da Moita acabaria por ser retirada. Um único parágrafo lido pela deputada do Pessoas-Animais-Natureza (PAN) foi suficientes para incendiar a assembleia municipal que na segunda-feira à noite decorria, até aí, tranquilamente. "Aqui na Moita verifica-se que existe uma etnia que se multiplicou e que todos os dias se passeiam pela Moita e arredores, empilhados em cima de carroças, puxadas por um único cavalo subnutrido, espancado, a desfazer-se em diarreias por não ser abeberado e alimentado sequer e que por vezes caem na via pública, não suportando mais..." A boas intenções da recomendação - que fazia referência à lei 92/95 que proíbe "todas as violências injustificadas contra animais - caiu por terra e o burburinho invadiu a reunião. Os eleitos da CDU - que lideram a assembleia municipal e a câmara - foram os primeiros a dizer que não se reviam na proposta e apontar o "cariz xenófobo" do documento em grande alarido. Entre os vários comunistas que apontaram o dedo ao documento estava, por exemplo, Nuno Cavaco, presidente da União de Freguesas da Baixa da Banheira e Vale da Amoreira. Fechar Subscreva as newsletters Diário de Notícias e receba as informações em primeira mão. Subscrever João Flores, eleito pela coligação PSD/CDS, disse ao DN que o problema foi "a construção do texto" que "discrimina uma etnia, sem no entanto referir a palavra ciganos". E acrescenta: "Da forma como estava o texto, com a referência a uma etnia, tinha caráter xenófobo." Proposta volta em setembro reformulada Ainda se tentou eliminar o parágrafo da polémica, mas concluiu-se que o texto ficaria sem sentido. A solução foi retirar a proposta de recomendação que queria alertar para os maus tratos aos cavalos da Moita, "através de abandono, subnutrição, desidratação, exaustão e também agressão física sem consequências práticas e eficazes para os detentores." A defesa da dignidade e bem-estar dos cavalos acabaria por esbarrar na palavra "etnia". A deputada disse que iria reformular a proposta para a apresentar a 27 de setembro. Fátima Dâmaso lamenta na proposta de recomendação que, passados mais de 20 anos sobre a lei de proteção dos animais, nada tenha mudado. "Não podemos aceitar que estes casos continuem a acontecer e a ser desvalorizados e que estes animais continuem a ser massacrados constantemente." Mais: "Não se trata de casos pontuais, mais sim de situações recorrentes em que algumas vezes os cavalos acabam por morrer e que tem gerado uma onda de indignação na maioria dos munícipes do concelho. Referindo que a Moita é um concelho com tradição equestre e que por isso qualquer proposta referente a cavalos é sempre razão para animação, o deputado João Flores explica que as situações a que a deputada do PAN se referia nem sequer são de animais pertencentes a ciganos. Terão acontecido dois casos distintos: um animal que morreu junto ao Pingo Doce e cuja carcaça foi retirada sem que se soubesse quem era o proprietário e outro animal que "está ao abandono" junto ao Quartel dos Bombeiros e cujo dono mora no Bairro Novo. A questão, sublinhou, é que com a idade os cavalos começam, a ficar fragilizados e o abate tem custos elevados: transporte para o matadouro com respetivas guias, passaporte veterinário e boletim sanitário. O que propunha Fátima Dâmaso? A deputada municipal do PAN propunha que fosse recomendado à Câmara da Moita que atuasse, "identificando os detentores dos cavalos que se encontram abandonados, amarrados e sem alimento, no sentido de sensibilizar os mesmos para estes atos cruéis que levam os animais a situações de doença, exaustão e morte, assim como na circulação de animais atrelados a carroças, que circulam sem regras, pondo em perigo também os automobilistas. Por outro lado, Fátima Dâmaso recomendava que, em caso de impossibilidade de contacto com o proprietário do animal, fosse permitida a assistência média a equídeo doente ou em sofrimento pelo veterinário municipal. O PAN reagiu ao condenando e desvinculando-se "total e perentoriamente da referência étnica" e a deputada acabou por apresentar demissão (ler texto relacionado).

A new exit poll suggests that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin are tied when it comes to first preference votes, making the result of the General Election too close to call. The exit poll, carried out by Ipsos MRBI for RTÉ, The Irish Times, TG4 and UCD, indicates all three parties have 22% of first preference votes. The margin of error in this exit poll is plus or minus 1.3% - which means any of the three parties could be as low as 20.7% support or as high as 23.3%. The exit poll is based on 5,376 completed interviews conducted immediately after people voted at 250 polling stations in 39 constituencies across the country. It indicates Green Party first preference support stands at 8%; Labour at 4%; the Social Democrats at 3%; Solidarity People Before Profit at 3%; and Independents at 11%. Read more: Micheál Lehane's exit poll analysis Your Politics: Analysis of General Election 2020 exit poll The first preference vote of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is suggested by this poll to stand at 44% - significantly lower than the 49% they polled in the 2016 General Election. In previous exit polls, support for Fianna Fáil has been under-stated. However, on this occasion, the number of people interviewed has increased from about 3,000 to more than 5,300 to improve accuracy. In the 2016 general election, Fianna Fáil secured 25.5% of the first preferences. Fine Gael took 24.3%; while Sinn Féin obtained 13.8%. The poll suggests a move toward Sinn Féin among younger voters, with the party receiving the largest number of first preference votes among 18-24 years olds. The poll suggests a polar opposite voting pattern between older and younger voters. It indicates that the majority of voters over the age of 65 gave their first preference to Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil. Meanwhile, the exit poll indicates a possible weakness in support for Fianna Fáil in the Dublin Region in comparison to the rest of the country. It suggests that the party has 14% of the first preference vote in the capital, compared to 21% for Fine Gael, 22% for Sinn Fein and 6% for Independents. The regional breakdown of the exit poll suggests support for the Green Party is strongest in Dublin where it has 13% of the first preference vote, while its support is considerably weaker outside the capital. Fianna Fáil's support in the rest of Leinster is 26%, while Fine Gael is on 22%, Sinn Féin is on 24% and Independents are on 8%. In Munster Fianna Fáil is on 26%, Fine Gael 25%, Sinn Féin 18% and Independents 15%. In Connacht Ulster the poll suggests support for Fianna Fáil is 22%, Fine Gael is 22%, Sinn Fein 26% and Independents 17%.

Home Editor's Choice Israel is helping Jordanian special forces fighting ISIS on the ground in Iraq AMMONNEWS - In another sign of the increased cooperation and strategic military alliance between Israel and Jordan, news reports said that Israel will supply Jordan with two types of drones to help Jordan fight the Islamic State in Iraq, ISIS OR ISIL. The London based Jane’s Defense magazine which reported the news earlier this week based on Israeli news sources said that Israel will supply Jordan with “Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron TP strategic and Elbit Systems Skylark tactical UAVs.” Israel has been helping Jordan in its fight against the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq and Syria by supplying its former foe turned strategic ally with high tech weapons to protect its borders against the terrorist group. An Israeli defense website reported last week that a joint Jordanian-Israeli command and control war room is currently leading the air campaign against ISIS from a base in northern Jordan. The Arab Daily news could not verify this information at this point. Sources in the Pentagon, however, who did not wish to be identified for this story told the Arab Daily News that the Israeli drones will help Jordanian Special Forces currently fighting ISIS in Iraq and supporting the US troops on the ground there. A total of 12 Israeli-made UAVs will be delivered to Jordan in the near future. The Arab Daily News reported last year that brigade strength Jordanian Special Forces has been fighting ISSI in Iraq while wearing Iraqi and Kurdish military fatigue. In an interview with CBS’s 60 minutes last year King Abdullah II commented on the threat ISIS poses to his country and Jordan’s efforts to confront that threat saying that “We have retaliated to several contacts over the past several months to those who have come across our borders or tried to come across our borders. So we have been somewhat aggressive to make sure our borders are defended.” Jordanian Special Forces are one of the best trained in the region and have been carefully designed to deal with different aspects of terrorist threats whether hostages rescue, or capture and kill operations. Jordan also trains regional forces on special operations in its US-funded and managed King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center KASOTC . Jordanian fighter pilot Muath Kasasbeh was captured last year and later was burned alive by the terrorist group. According to the magazine, the Heron TP was “first entered service with the Israeli Air Force in 2010, and is the service’s largest and most sophisticated UAV with a wingspan of 26 m and an all-up weight of 4,650 kg. With a stated operating altitude of 45,000ft (although it is believed it can fly higher), the Heron TP is reported to have a 40-hour endurance. Although the Heron TP’s range figures have not been disclosed, the platform’s satellite communications (SATCOM) enable over-the-horizon operations. In terms of its payload, the Heron TP has recently been cleared to carry the IAI (Tamam) M-19HD electro-optical sensor turret, which includes zoom and spotter high-definition (HD) day cameras; an HD infrared (IR) zoom camera; laser designator; laser rangefinder; laser pointer; near-IR laser illuminator; electron-multiplied charge-coupled device (CCD) camera; and short-wave IR camera.” It is worth noting, meanwhile, that Israel is increasingly involved in the fight against ISIS through supplying its close ally Jordan with all kind of high tech weapons systems especially electronic mentoring systems. Also last month, Israel supplied Jordan with its retired Cobra helicopters after the US performed the necessary overhaul and updates. *The Arab Daily News

Man kennt es: Wer dumm fragt, bekommt dumme Antworten. Wie Bayer Leverkusen-Profi Karim Bellarabi dieses Spielchen auf ein komplett neues Level hob nach dem DFB-Pokalviertelfinale gegen Union Berlin, sucht aber vermutlich seinesgleichen. Wir feiern diese kleine, aber sehr feine Interviewsequenz. Hat nen Platz in unserem Jahresrückblick sicher. Bestes Interview des Jahres. pic.twitter.com/51z4g4B7H5 — Giuseppe Rondinella (@g_rondinella) March 5, 2020

​ ​ Q: What exactly is the fully immersive game experience you aim to provide through gaming mode? A: It's mainly about reducing interruptions (notifications or phone calls) when you play a video game. Besides, overall performance and network fluctuations improve as well. Q: What’s your plan to enhance user privacy in the future? A: We always prioritize user privacy in our work. To ensure that our users' privacy is well protected, we have set up an inter-departmental team. Plus, we will follow GDPR in the coming month. Q: What are your plans regarding software updates? A: We know every member of our community wants the latest updates. The official Android 8.1 update will be rolled out for the OnePlus 5/5T soon, followed by official Android 8.0 updates for the OnePlus 3/3T. OnePlus 3/3T users will have Android 8.1 official release in the mid-2018. Q: Do you have any plans to improve the camera quality on the OnePlus 5/5T? A: Yes. We’ve received a lot of feedback following our Open Ears Forum in Hamburg and online surveys. We are planning to fix the so-called “oil painting effect”. Q: Have you ever considered a stay awake feature? It would be useful for cooking, reading repair manuals, anything when your hands are busy, etc. A: This is a fantastic idea! We might consider adding a toggle to the quick settings menu that enables your phone to stay awake for a specific period of time. Q: Any plans to update the alert slider to support a ring, vibrate and silent mode? A: Yes. Hope you guys are looking forward to it. Q: Are you going to support accent color customization? A: Yes. It’s on the way.

"We're not trying to get hurt," added Moe, 20, a student at Kingsborough Community College. "Every time we go out to prank, we are never serious. We don't think about it. We don't make anybody's day go wrong."

There was a time, as recently as 40 years ago, when frequencies below 100Hz were considered extreme lows, and reproduction below 50Hz was about as common as the unicorn. From our present technological perch, it's too easy to smirk condescendingly at such primitive conditions. But just so you're able to sympathize with the plight of these disadvantaged audiophiles, I should tell you that there were two perfectly good reasons for this parlous state of affairs. First of all, program material at that time was devoid of deep bass; not because it was removed during disc mastering but simply because there wasn't any to begin with. The professional tape recorders of the day featured a frequency response of 50–15kHz, ±2dB—just about on a par with the frequency performance capability of a cheap 1988 cassette tape deck. And then there were the phono front ends and the loudspeakers of the day. Unsophisticated cartridges and a generally highish cartridge/arm resonance frequency made transduction of the lowest octaves almost impossible. How well do you imagine LF groove modulations can be tracked when the arm/cartridge resonance lies at 30Hz? Loudspeaker bass alignments tended toward high Qs, emulating one-note "boom box" response in the naive belief that quantity was ultimately superior to quality. This was a time when the bass-reflex design was routinely abused, so much so that the name became synonymous with loose and overly resonant bass response. Against this backdrop, limited-frequency program material was really a blessing in disguise. Ironically, as both home and professional equipment improved, program material failed to keep parity. Oh, I can think of several exceptions, but on the whole records continued to be mastered with very little in the way of deep bass; this time primarily because of commercial considerations. Sure, there's very little musical information in the deep bass, but I believe that, combined the LP's problem with cutting large vertical groove excursions, the prospect of being able to cram more music per side entrenched the practice of mastering with bass summing and rolloff. And because the average home system was still deep-bass deficient, only the audiophiles complained. The advent of the compact disc has changed all that. The audiophile, after finally purchasing a CD player, quickly realizes just how inadequate his mini-monitors or postage-stamp ESLs really are in handling the potential bass extension and power of this new medium. But being wiser than the average consumer, and thereby realizing that man does not live by bass alone, he's not as likely to alter the status quo of his speakers. The average consumer, however, is much more likely to be fazed by the fact that his bookshelf speakers are not "digital ready." And either the paranoia of "missing something," or the desire to capture the full fidelity of those infamous Telarc cannon shots, a Boeing 747 taking off in his living room, or some such similar sonic spectacular, finally drives him to consider a subwoofer. As we shall see, these are precisely all of the wrong reasons to purchase a subwoofer. Bass Terminology So that we all speak the same language, allow me to take a brief detour to examine the objective and subjective terms used to describe the bass octaves. I define deep bass as the range from 20 to 60Hz. In terms of acoustic instruments, only the pipe organ, the bass tuba, and the double bass have any dominant spectral energy in this range. But this range is also very important for the proper tonal balance, or body, of the cello and piano. The octave from 60 to 120Hz I take to constitute the midbass. Again, the double bass, cello, and piano figure prominently in this range. Add to this list the bass drum, synthesizers, and bass guitar. Finally, the range from 120 to 240Hz defines the upper bass. This territory represents the heart of orchestral bass, not only because of obvious bass contributions from drums, strings, and piano, but also some of the woodwinds and brass. An excess of energy in this range may be described as thick, mellow, or heavy-bodied sound, while a deficiency of energy in this range lends a thin or lean character to the sound, as it also does in the midbass region. A fat midbass may be best described as tubby, boomy, or as possessing a grunting quality. Because of the ear's rapidly diminishing sensitivity in the deep bass, and the fact that physical sensation begins to play a part in perception, the deep bass is sometimes referred to as belly lows. But even more important than flat frequency response down here is the criterion of dynamic range. "Punch" or "slam" describe the dynamic performance of a speaker in the mid- and deep bass when it is able to faithfully execute a bass transient. Inherent to such performance is the woofer's excursion capability or its ability to move the requisite volume of air. When a speaker is unable to meet the brutal excursion demands imposed on it in the LF domain—excursion is quadrupled for each halving of the frequency—the result is usually not only a wimpy or polite bass quality but also gross distortion on heavy peaks. As the woofer's suspension is driven into a nonlinear region of operation, a lot of harmonic distortion is generated. The most prominent distortion product is generally the second harmonic, an octave higher, and at sufficiently large cone excursions the woofer's acoustic output may actually be dominated by the second harmonic. This situation is referred to as bass "doubling." This leads me to the areas of finesse in bass response, areas often overlooked in favor of frequency response and bass power considerations. I'm talking about bass speed, tightness, pitch definition, and resolution of bass detail. These attributes may be more appealing to the music lover who is certainly not immune to the emotional impact of bass power and thunder, but who nonetheless craves a commensurate dose of bass subtlety and delicacy. Most of these things have to do with the absence of low-Q resonances in the bass response of the speaker. These resonances may be generated by the woofer, the box cavity, or by flexure of the cabinet panels. The end result is a muddying effect whereby detail and pitch definition are obscured. The point is that these resonances stay around long after the trailing edge or decay portion of the input signal has ceased, ringing while new transients are being presented to the speaker. In essence, these resonances fill in the silent gap between adjoining transients with sonic garbage. It is this garbage or mud that masks bass detail and detracts from the purity of pitch definition. Interestingly enough, as Floyd Toole has pointed out, some low-Q colorations may contribute no more than a 0.5dB bump to the frequency response and yet be quite audible. This means that it would be difficult to objectively discern the presence of such resonances from merely examining a speaker's frequency response. What would be much more useful would be a three-dimensional plot of amplitude as a function of frequency and time. These are the type of measurements pioneered by the late Dick Heyser. Such data would indeed show up resonances as ripples in the amplitude response as a function of time. However, even at this level of sophistication we would still be unable to resolve the subjective significance of the various resonances (there will always be some) without comparative listening tests. So our ears and brains must be the final arbiters. Contrary to Consumers Union's claims, speakers that appear to measure alike in the frequency domain may differ significantly in sound quality—even at drive levels that produce negligible distortion products.

WASHINGTON — Mark Kelly, the retired astronaut and husband of former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, told reporters on Capitol Hill that the messages of thoughts and prayers to the families of victims in the Las Vegas shooting are “not enough.” “What we are hearing today at the Capitol and the White House are thoughts and prayers,” Kelly said outside of the Capitol building with his wife at his side. “Thoughts and prayers are important. We send our thoughts and prayers, too. But they are not enough. Your thoughts and prayers aren’t going to stop the next shooting. Only action and leadership will do that.” Giffords was shot in 2011 at a constituent event in Tucson, Ariz., and she and her husband have since pressed for stricter gun laws. “Despite the tragedies in places like Aurora and Newtown and Orlando, despite daily shootings in communities across America, despite senseless gun related domestic violence, despite epidemic or preventable suicides, despite the problems of toddlers shooting toddlers and their parents, the response from Congress has been to do nothing, absolutely nothing,” he said. But so far there is no indication that Republicans will take up legislation to limit access to guns. Before the Las Vegas shootings, legislation moved forward in a House committee that would relax restrictions on obtaining gun silencers, there were a number of reports that the legislation would come for a vote this week. But it is not on the official schedule. At the press conference, Kelly said, “Imagine how much worse the [Las Vegas] shooting could have been if the gunman had a silencer. “Imagine the gun lobby’s version of society — everyone armed, everyone out for themselves, everyone at risk all the time,” he added. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, saying that Congress has a “moral duty” to “address this horrific and heartbreaking epidemic.” She called for the creation of a select committee on gun violence to come up with bipartisan legislation.

Cloud Platform Suitable for Every Pocket: Jelastic Partners with MilesWeb Hosting in India Keeping up our main strategy to provide customers with an affordable cloud hosting, today we are happy to announce a partnership between Jelastic and MilesWeb, web hosting company in India that is offering customized hosting solutions to small, medium and enterprise businesses since 2012. What motivated MilesWeb to launch new service offering? Why not just proceed providing VPS hosting? Affordable Cloud Hosting The answer is clear - to meet the rising demand among Indian customers in the affordable cloud hosting platform that ensures you are paying only for the resource usage of your application. People believe that affordable price in combination with high performance is a myth and keep overpaying up to 45% for their projects hosting. By joining the forces with Jelastic, MilesWeb Cloud will help their customers in India to save time and money with flexible Platform available from Mumbai data center. MilesWeb’s spokesperson stated that: ‘The resources you need for your application might not be the same always, they might differ and in order to keep up with the resource needs and to ensure cost effectiveness, you need a platform that works according to your resource requirements. Our cloud platform completely works on the discretion of the users; the user can scale up or down whenever required without any manual intervention or downtime’. No More Complexity Breaking the next myth about complexity, MilesWeb powered by Jelastic enables customers to deploy Java, PHP, Ruby, Node.js and Python applications smoothly with no code changes. Another battle card in favor of cloud hosting - it is easy to scale projects and applications during load spikes with the help of Jelastic vertical and horizontal scaling. And yes, it is really easy to manage as the dashboard provides intuitive application topology wizard, deployment manager, access to log and config files, team collaboration functionality and integration with CI/CD tools. Most Popular Apps Just in One Click From now on, MilesWeb customers are able to install 100+ popular applications in one simple click right from the Marketplace in the dashboard. CMS`, e-commerce, developer tools, IoT and much more apps so demanded for running projects in the effective and highly productive way. All the applications available in Marketplace can be installed with no manual settings. What Benefits from Milesweb Hosting? MilesWeb empowers their customers with high uptime ensured by the state-of-art data center infrastructure in Mumbai (the financial capital of India), delivering top speed along with providing industry leading SLA. One more advantage for MilesWeb Cloud hosting is round-the-clock technical support over phone, email, and chat. A good news for customers, that want to try cloud hosting service at MilesWeb for free - 30 days free trial is available with no credit card required as well as with a possibility to upgrade any time. Inspired to try Jelastic Cloud at MilesWeb Hosting Provider? Register for free and unveil even more pros for your projects hosting.

If you like to celebrate your birthday all week (or all month), we’ve gathered up a huge list of local birthday freebies and deals for free meals, beauty items, clothing discounts, and more. Celebrate your birthday with some special treats this year! Some of my favorites are Jeni’s Ice Cream, Starbucks, Red Robin, Panera, and Sephora – but there are dozens and dozens more! Most require sign up for an email or text club. You may need to sign up a month or more before your birthday in order to get in the system to receive the birthday deals. Most will also send you a coupon for a freebie or discount on the day you sign up for the emails, as well as throughout the year and for an anniversary, so you may want to sign up for only a few at a time to space out your welcome email freebies before they expire. Even if you forget to sign up for the email clubs, it never hurts to ask if they have any special offers if you are dining out on your actual birthday. Most places will happily bring out a dessert for you to enjoy. If you don’t want your email inbox flooded with emails throughout the year, you may want to create a separate email address for these signups, or have them sent directly to a subfolder. Kids Only Birthday Freebies Barnes and Noble: Join the Kids Club and kids 12 and under will get an offer for a free cupcake or cookie on their birthday Benihana (Polaris): Kids 12 and under can join the Kabuki Kids program for a special postcard for their birthday to redeem for a free souvenir mug with the purchase of a Kabuki Kids meal. BJ’s Restaurants KidsLink Birthday Club (Tuttle and Polaris): Free Pizookie dessert Bob Evans: Sign your child up for the birthday club at Bob Evans and they’ll get a free kids’ meal with the purchase of an adult meal on their birthday. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s (Hilliard): Free dessert with the purchase of any entrée Build-a-Bear: Build-A-Bear Bonus Club members can take advantage of the year-long Count Your Candles birthday program, where kids 14 and under can “pay their age” for the new Birthday Treat Bear during their birthday month, plus special birthday celeBEARation extras. California Pizza Kitchen: Kids under 10 will receive a free CPKids Meal from California Pizza Kitchen when you sign them up for CPKids. Captain D’s Seafood Restaurant (NE and SE Cbus): Kids 12 and under can join the birthday club to receive a free kids’ meal (offer may vary) Chuck E. Cheese – Kids get a coupon for 20 FREE tokens when you join the eclub. Perkins Hilliard: Free Kid’s Meal! Pizza Hut Birthday Club: Kids get a kids meal for their birthday if they are signed up. Steak ‘n Shake: Receive a postcard with coupon for free fries for kids on their birthdays and half birthdays Dessert and Coffee Shops Birthday Freebies Baskin Robins (Dublin): Free scoop of ice cream on your birthday when you join the Baskin Robbins Birthday Club. Cinnabon (Easton and Polaris): Free treat Coldstone Creamery: Buy one signature creation, get one free Culver’s: Free one-scoop sundae Dairy Queen: $3 off a blizzard cake, or buy one, get one free blizzards Dippin’ Dots (Tuttle Mall): Free small cup of Dippin’ Dots Dunkin Donuts: Free medium beverage Godiva (Tuttle Mall and Easton): $10 gift certificate, but a free piece of Chocolate every month with Rewards Club Graeters: Free sundae on your birthday with the Sweet Rewards program Great American Cookies (Tuttle Mall): Free cookie cake slice with purchase Jeni’s Ice Cream: Free single, standard, or trio ice cream on your birthday at scoop shops Krispy Kreme: free donut and small Coffee or Fountain Drink. Menchie’s (Dublin, Tuttle, and Gahanna): $5 in Menchie’s Money added to your mySmileage account Nothing Bundt Cakes (Dublin, Gahanna, Upper Arlington): Join the eclub for a free bundtlet on your birthday Rita’s Italian Ice: Free regular Italian Ice Starbucks: Free drink or treat with Starbucks Rewards Subscribe to Columbus on the Cheap by email and you’ll receive just one email a day the latest information on free and cheap events. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Restaurant Birthday Freebies All Cameron Mitchell Restaurants: Free dessert if you mention it’s your birthday Birthdaypak of Columbus: Signup to receive up to 8 coupon/gift cards for local stores, salons, and/or restaurants. Applebee’s: Free dessert when you sign up for the email club Abuelo’s (Easton): Free dessert and receive a free gift for joining and on anniversary with Mi Abuelo’s Rewards program. (Was reported in a comment that you actually get a free entree! Even better!) Auntie Anne’s Pretzels (Eastland and Easton Malls): Free pretzel on birthday. Download the My Pretzel Perks app Arby’s: Free 12oz. milkshake with any purchase (plus free roast beef at signup). Average Joes: Free boneless wings on your birthday, and a Free Order of Pretzel Bites in your first email Bar Louie: free birthday appetizer or dessert with you sign up for The Mob. Beef O’Brady’s (Hilliard): BOGO Free appetizer Benihana (Polaris): $30 birthday certificate bd’s Mongolian Grill: Coupon for a free unlimited meal with the purchase of one bowl with Club Mongo registration. Bonefish Grill (Polaris and Dublin): A FREE order of Bang Bang Shrimp or Jen’s Jamaican Coconut Pie. Bon Vie Bistro (Easton): $5 off lunch and $10 off dinner (usually send an anniversary coupon too) Brio Tuscan Grille (Easton and Polaris): Certificate for free food Boston Market: Free individual dessert with purchase of any create your plate meal Boston’s The Gourmet Pizza (Arena District and Marysville): Free flatbread Buca di Beppo: Birthday gift worth $20 (and free pasta on signup) Buffalo Wild Wings: Free dessert California Pizza Kitchen: Free dessert Cantina Laredo (Polaris): Free dessert Captain D’s Seafood Restaurant (NE and SE Cbus): Free meal on birthday (and a free dessert each month with D’s Club) Carrabba’s Italian Grill (Hilliard and Polaris): Free dessert with purchase of an entrée Champps: Free birthday reward (rumored to be a meal) Cheesecake Factory: Free dessert Chick-fil-A: varies per franchise, check the Chick-fil-A One App Chili’s: Free dessert on your birthday City Barbeque: Free dessert in birthday month with happy bday email Cooper’s Hawk (Easton): Free dessert Cracker Barrel: Free dessert Culver’s: Join the e-Club and receive coupons and a special offer on your birthday and a BOGO FREE Value Basket when you sign up. Denny’s: Free Grand Slam on your birthday Dickey’s Barbeque Pit (Lewis Center and Delaware): Free Big BBQ Sandwich Dublin Village Tavern: Free entree when dining with party of four or more Einstein Bros Bagels: Free breakfast sandwich with purchase Fazolis: Free Dessert Firehouse Subs: Free medium sub on your birthday First Watch: free entree via the e-club Gordon Biersch: Free BOGO coupon for an entrée HoneyBaked Ham: Free sandwich with Honeybaked Rewards Hot Head Burritos: Free food for your birthday through rewards club Houlihan’s (Upper Arlington): Free entrée on your birthday Hungry Howie’s Pizza: FREE Medium 1 topping Pizza with $5 minimum purchase when you sign up for email club IHOP: FREE full stack of our famous Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity® Pancakes (also on your anniversary) J Gilbert’s: Complimentary entree, up to $25 Jason’s Deli: $5 coupon for your birthday Jersey Mike’s Subs: free sub sandwich and drink on your birthday Joe’s Crab Shack: Free appetizer with the purchase of an adult entrée. Logan’s Roadhouse: Free dessert Longhorn Steakhouse: free dessert Marie Scramblers: Free meal on your birthday with coupon from Marie Club to use within 7 days of your birthday Marco’s Pizza: A FREE Medium One topping Pizza. Max & Ermas: Special treat on your birthday with the Good Neighbors Club McAlister’s Deli: Free sweet treat Mellow Mushroom: (Polaris and Dublin) $5 coupon Melting Pot: free chocolate fondue Mimis Cafe: Free dessert or baked good Moe’s Southwest Grill: receive free burrito Morton’s Steakhouse: free dessert or food (varies) Noodles & Company: any entree O’Charley’s: free dessert Olive Garden: free dessert or appetizer On the Border (Easton): free Brownie Sundae or Bowl of Original Queso with the purchase of an entrée. Orange Julius: BOGO coupon on your birthday Outback Steakhouse: free dessert on your birthday Panera Bread: free pastry/dessert via My Panera Perkins (Hilliard): free Magnificent Seven for adults. Kids will receive a free Kid’s Meal! P.F. Chang’s: free appetizer or dessert of your choice to enjoy any time during your birthday month Pita Pit (campus area): free 22 oz. Fountain Drink (and free combo upgrade when you join e-club) Pizza Hut: A free dessert with your order. Qdoba Mexican Grill: receive a free entree with the purchase of an entree when you sign up for the e-club. Quaker Steak & Lube: $5 OFF your check of $25 or more and a free Dessert through the e-club Quiznos: free cookie plus other coupons through the e-club Raising Cane’s: Join the Caniac Club and get free food on your birthday and anniversary Red Lobster: free appetizer; different locations have different promotions through the e-club and My Red Lobster Rewards App Red Robin: free birthday burger through the Red Robin Royalty program; locations may offer different promotions Refectory: $20 towards two dinner entrees or $10 towards two bistro dinners Rodizio Grill: Special promotion for your birthday Ruby Tuesday: Free burger or free garden bar entree Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: Free dessert Sbarro: free slice of pizza via Slice Society program Scrambler Marie’s: free entree on your birthday (or 6 days after) with the MarieClub membership. SmashBurger: Join the Smashclub email and/or get the app, and get a special birthday offer. Smokey Bones: Free dessert Sonic Drive-in: free creamslush, tater tots, or medium drink Spaghetti Warehouse: Free entree and dessert via email club Steak ‘n Shake: Members will receive a FREE Double ’n Cheese ’n Fries* when they join, and a FREE Specialty Milkshake* on their birthday! Sunny Street Cafe: Free entree through e-club (coupon good for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after birthday) Tanuki Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar (Powell): Free dessert and you get to wear an awesome creepy “head” while they sing to you Ted’s Montana Grill: Free dessert for birthday; appetizer for anniversary Texas De Brazil (Arena District): $20 off dinner for two Texas Roadhouse: free sidekick of ribs or appetizer TGI Fridays: free dessert Tim Horton’s: Special treat on your birthday Waffle House: Free waffle Which Wich: Free regular sandwich Wendy’s: varies, but reportedly a free frosty or $1 off combo Beauty Birthday Freebies Sephora: Enjoy a free beauty item from Sephora on your special day when you sign up as a Beauty Insider. Aveda: Free gift when you visit one of its stores. Sign up for emails. Joining the Pure Privilege Program will also earn the birthday reward. bareMinerals: Free eyecolor at boutique or online; gives Friends and Benefits (FAB) members a gift customized to your personal profile. Plus, pick any day of the year to get 15% off your purchase. Ulta: Free beauty gift for ULTAmate Rewards members Fashion Birthday Freebies American Eagle Outfitters: get 15% off during your birthday month with Aerewards Champ’s Sports: Sign up to be a VIP and receive a birthday offer Charming Charlie: Sign up for the email club for a special offer on your birthday The Children’s Place: 20% Coupon on your Birthday and Your Child’s Birthday through MyPlace Rewards DSW rewards: $5 certificate to use during the month Famous Footwear: Special birthday offer if you join the Famous Footwear Loyalty Program and spend more than $200 annually (Gold status) Gap: 25% off with Gapcard Kohls Rewards: $5 reward, and a bonus $10 off $25 purchase coupon (reportedly – offers may vary) Jcp Credit Card: Birthday reward (never worth it to open a store credit card account for a reward, but if you already have one, make sure you’re getting a reward. Old Navy: Sign up for email updates and get a discount around your birthday Victoria’s Secret: $10 credit for Angel Card members Other Stores Birthday Freebies Ace Hardware: Discount coupon on your birthday (in the past, $5 off $25) The Container Store POP program: coupon for a free gift CVS: Register for a CVS ExtraCare Card and get ExtraCare Bucks every year on your birthday Hallmark Crown Rewards: Coupon and a free card (reportedly) Petco Pals Rewards: Free treat and coupon on your pet’s birthday Sports Clips: free haircut World Market: 15% off Entertainment Birthday Freebies Dave & Buster’s: A coupon for $10 worth of free game play is emailed to you one week before your birthday if you have registered your Power Card online. You have until 30 days after your birthday to use the promotional coupon. Shadowbox Live: Free ticket during birthday month once you’ve signed up. You’ll get tickets offers (including free tickets) throughout the year. Save Save Save Save Save

A recent study from NerdWallet lists the worst cities in the nation for drivers, and Boston is at the top of the list. According to NerdWallet’s analysis, Boston drivers spend far more time stuck in traffic than other motorists across the nation. They also face greater safety risks, longer delays because of inclement weather, and a terrible struggle to find parking spaces. But don’t despair. We dug into our archives and found the cars that will help you battle each of the factors that make driving in Boston so terrible. Here’s a breakdown of NerdWallet’s score. Accident Likelihood: Citing Allstate’s America’s Best Drivers report, NerdWallet found Boston drivers are almost 130 percent more likely to get into an accident than the national average. If these odds have you concerned about your car’s ability to handle a crash, the following cars, trucks, and SUVs were named the safest vehicles on the road by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Safest Cars of 2015 Previous -- of -- Next Advertisement Traffic delays and congestion: According to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the average U.S. driver can spend about 33 hours stuck in traffic each year. It’s much worse for Boston drivers who spend an average of 53 hours muddling through congestion annually. Stop-and-go traffic can really wear on a car, so you’ll need something sturdy to make it through all that traffic. Something on this list of the 20 longest-lasting vehicles should do the trick. A GMC Sierra 1500 is one of the longest-lasting vehicles according to iSeeCars.com Gas prices: NerdWallet’s report looked at 2014 data from the Council for Community and Economic research. Boston drivers paid an average price of $3.60 per gallon for gas. If the thought of losing gas while stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic has you considering the efficiency of your car’s gas mileage, here are some fuel-friendly vehicle recommendations. The Ford Fiesta SE Hatchback gets 27 mpg city/34 highway for combined fuel economy of 30 mpg. Parking: As if getting stuck in Boston’s traffic wasn’t bad enough, finding a parking spot can be just as painful. NerdWallet found Boston has 1.36 parking garages and lots for every 1,000 cars. In case you have trouble fitting your car into a tight parking spot, here are some cars to make parking in Boston a little easier. Smaller cars like the MINI Cooper are easier to park in tight Boston parking spots. Weather: Bad weather can make driving even more difficult. NerdWallet found Boston drivers experience 10 extra days of snow and rain compared to the national average. If we ever have another winter like 2015, nothing will make that a pleasant time to drive. But the vehicles on this list of the 10 best cars to tackle winter might soothe the pain.

White House aide Sebastian Gorka on Thursday said his comments saying it would be “nonsensical” for Rex Tillerson Rex Wayne TillersonGary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November Kushner says 'Alice in Wonderland' describes Trump presidency: Woodward book Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE “to discuss military matters” were a criticism of the news media, not the secretary of State. “I said for reporters to force our chief diplomat, the amazing Rex Tillerson, to give details of military options is nonsensical. He is the secretary of state," Gorka told Fox News. Gorka described it as “fake news 101” for reporters to say that he accused Tillerson of being “out of line” by discussing military affairs. ADVERTISEMENT Gorka made his initial remarks in an interview with BBC radio as he was asked about what would constitute a red line that might lead to U.S. military action against North Korea. "You should listen to the president," Gorka said. "The idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical." "It is the job of Secretary [James] Mattis as secretary of Defense to talk about military options, and he has done so unequivocally. Today he said woe betide anyone who militarily challenges the United States, and that is his portfolio, that is his mandate," Gorka said. "Secretary Tillerson is the chief diplomat of the United States, and it is his portfolio to handle those issues." Gorka's comments drew considerable media attention since, regardless of the context, it was unusual to see a top White House aide publicly saying it was "simply nonsensical" for the secretary of the State to discuss military affairs. It also came as Mattis and Tillerson struck different public notes on North Korea, something that might simply be reflective of their different roles in the government. On Fox, Gorka insisted that his criticism was of “the fake news industrial complex,” but argued it is the Pentagon’s job to address military affairs. “I was admonishing the journalists of the fake news industrial complex who are forcing our chief diplomat into a position where they are demanding he makes the military case for action when that is not the mandate of the secretary of State. That’s why we have a Department of Defense,” Gorka said. “If a journalist doesn’t know the different between the secretary of State and the Department of Defense, they should hand in their credentials,” he said.

Washington (CNN) He may have a $181 million retirement package and $54 million of ExxonMobil shares, but even secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson shops for his own Raisin Bran. The longtime ExxonMobil CEO was spotted at a Safeway supermarket Tuesday evening in Washington's Dupont Circle neighborhood. "Yup. That's Rex Tillerson in my local Safeway shopping like a plebeian," Washingtonian Sanho Tree wrote in a tweet that has since gone viral. "His security guy is about 20 paces behind him." Yup. That's Rex Tillerson in my local Safeway shopping like a plebeian. His security guy is about 20 paces behind him. pic.twitter.com/9ptVGo8dBE — Sanho Tree (@SanhoTree) January 4, 2017 The accompanying photo shows Tillerson in the canned goods and pasta aisle, toting a basket filled with Raisin Bran cereal, milk and baby carrots, among other groceries. The grocery store in question is (affectionately) known by locals as the "Soviet Safeway," Tree said in another tweet. "Long lines, bad selection!" There is no parking and the small store lacks the selection of larger supermarkets nearby, such as the sprawling "Social Safeway" in Georgetown. Pro tip: If you're being criticized for your Russian connections, it's best to avoid the store locals have always called "Soviet Safeway"! https://t.co/40FRZPhxUp — Sanho Tree (@SanhoTree) January 4, 2017 Read More

Zao went viral in China this weekend for its realistic face-swapping videos, but after controversy about its user policy, WeChat restricted access to the app on its messaging platform. Users can still upload to WeChat videos they created with Zao, but if they try to download the app or send an invite link to another WeChat user, a message is displayed that says “this web page has been reported multiple times and contains security risks. To maintain a safe online environment, access to this page has been blocked.” Developed by a unit of Momo, one of China’s most popular dating apps, Zao creates videos that replace the faces of celebrities in scenes from popular movies, shows and music videos with a selfie uploaded by the user. The app, currently available only in China, went viral as users shared their videos through WeChat and other social media platforms in China. But concerns about the potential misuse of deepfake technology coupled with a clause (now deleted) in Zao’s terms of use that gave it full ownership and copyright to content uploaded or created on it, in addition to “completely free, irrevocable, perpetual, transferrable, and re-licensable rights,” caused controversy. In case you haven’t heard, #ZAO is a Chinese app which completely blew up since Friday. Best application of ‘Deepfake’-style AI facial replacement I’ve ever seen. Here’s an example of me as DiCaprio (generated in under 8 secs from that one photo in the thumbnail) 🤯 pic.twitter.com/1RpnJJ3wgT — Allan Xia (@AllanXia) September 1, 2019 By going viral quickly and being very easy to use (Zao’s videos can be generated from a single selfie, though it suggests that users upload photos from several angles for better results), the app has also focused more attention on deepfake technology and how it can potentially be used to spread misinformation or harass people. Zao was released last Friday and quickly became the top free iOS app in China, according to App Annie. A statement posted on September 1 to Zao’s Weibo account says “we completely understand everybody’s concerns about the privacy issue. We are aware of the issue and we are thinking about how to fix the problems, we need a little time.” Its terms and conditions now say user-generated content will only be used by the company to improve the app and that all deleted content will be removed from its servers. TechCrunch has contacted Zao for comment.

Pokémon So, my niece returned from her stay from her grandparents, and then showed me these oddstickers (which looked a little bit bootleg).She then picked Sylveon out of the pile, and asked me to draw it for her. I obliged, set up my stream, and got to work!3 hours later, and here we have a fantastic rendition of Sylveon!-----Check out the drawing timelapse of this piece on my YouTube channel! www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM3y8l…

ERIC: It was early June. And AJ Smith, the pastor of Restoration church in Philadelphia, told me about this thing he likes to do sometimes to escape -driving sound- AJ: Did you tell people this is where you're going today? ERIC: a couple of people. AJ: What’d they think? ERIC: I think they were like... that's going to be terrible audio. AJ: You know, that's what I was thinking ERIC: I'm like, eehhh… whatever. ERIC: We were on our way for a day of silent meditation… Fasting. Breathing exercises. Journaling. It’s a way for AJ to work through some of the church’s issues, but it’s also a way to work on his relationship with God. He does it at this hermitage out in the woods, outside of Philly. It’s just a few cabins run by a bunch of nuns. And the whole thing is right up AJ’s alley. Everyone had told me how much he loves nature… loves being alone. ERIC: Do you have anything you’re specifically thinking about today going into this? A thing you’re going to be working through or focusing on? AJ: That’s Good question. One thing I’m always… You’re going to turn left on 16th street. (GPS says: turn left)... I mean on a very base level, one thing i’m always working through is me trying to work through my doubts and have more confidence in my faith. I’m always hoping i can enter into a very focused state of prayer. I can open myself up and that I’ll experience some form of God’s presence. Cause God’s presence changes you. -music- ERIC: Hearing AJ talk like this… about experiencing God’s presence… I got very nervous. It was the kind of thing Christians say but, to most people, doesn’t mean anything. And it’s also an incredibly difficult thing to track. Like how do I even know if I’m experiencing God’s presence? It made me think about this unsettling thing that had been happening while I was reporting this story. Nearly every person I’d interviewed had asked me a version of the same question: Are you a Christian? At first, it felt innocent enough. Like maybe they were just curious about my interest in the topic. Are you a Christian? I’d say yes… have been my whole life… and then we’d move on. But over time, it started to feel different… like people weren’t curious, but were checking to see if we were on the same team. Are you a Christian? One guy told me he was glad to have a “witnessing Christian” doing this work. I felt very weird about it. Yeah… I identify as a Christian… but right now, I’m just doing my job. I’m a journalist, I’m not trying to get people saved. And with people constantly asking me if I was a Christian, and my growing resistance to answer, for the first time I was really having to confront the possibility... that maybe I wasn’t. Because the reality is… I haven’t gone to church in over a year. And I haven’t been able to articulate a good reason why. Religion has been very important to me for most of my life, but I’d been having a lot of questions about my own faith, and my relationship to the church. It’s hard to imagine spending a day in silence with a pastor in cabin run by nuns and not thinking about what I believed. Not staring it right in the face. So, yeah… I was nervous. But I did have an expert there to help. ERIC: Do you have any advice for me? About what to focus on or what to expect? AJ: Don’t freak out. Rule number one is don’t freak out. ERIC: Do people freak out? AJ: so I would I would go in being very curious about myself. Sometimes.. one thing you can start is like, I want, I fear, I surrender as a journaling thing. I'm like I want... and then writing all the things I want, the things I fear, or in the things I surrender, and what I'm going to give up in light of that. ERIC: I want... I want, I fear, I surrender? AJ: mhmm ERIC: I feel like I understand I want and I fear. What is I surrender? AJ: So, I surrender means so you kind of give that over to God you kind of say all right. I'm surrendering this this thing over ERIC: I spent the rest of the car ride turning that word over in my head… Surrender. -music- ERIC: I wasn’t sure why… but it felt like it had taken a seat in the corner of my brain… and at some point today it was going to demand attention… ERIC: all of a sudden it feels like we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. AJ: We are. It’s where nuns thrive. ERIC: This is StartUp the show about what it’s really like to start something new… I’m Eric Mennel. This is our last episode with AJ and Restoration Church, the church plant in Philadelphia… And we’ve got a lot to cover. We’re going to take a final headcount to see how much the church has grown this year. We’re gonna figure out where things stand financially… If this whole endeavor is sustainable or not. We’re gonna do the startup thing. But, before all that… a detour, into the woods, to deal with something I’d been thinking about more and more over the reporting of this story. That maybe I’d been asking the wrong question all along. Not, how does the church gain someone, but how does the church lose someone? -long drone- ERIC: Let’s do it. Do we stop talking now, or…? AJ: chuckles ERIC: The hermitage is about 40 minutes outside of Philly, tucked away in a storybook forest, down a long drive from the nearest main road. There’s a convent on site, but not the kind you’re imagining. It looks more like a senior living facility… tan… a few stories tall, filled with elderly sisters who ride golf carts around and wear very practical shoes. On the way over, we pick up some food to eat at the end of the fasting… AJ and his wife, Leah, are on the Whole Thirty diet… so he brought some nuts and a bar made of egg whites and crickets or something. But I knew this was going to be a stressful day for me… so I bought an Italian sub and a purple vitamin water from Wawa. Triple X flavor. We booked two cabins, one for each of us. They’re not particularly charming… more like small, studio-sized mobile homes. ERIC: It's just like a little twin bed, rocking chair, beside table, little tiny kitchen, bathroom. AJ: And that's kind of like your meditation station is this. Sometimes I've incense, you can light candles, zen garden. ERIC: It does look like the kind of place where I would go crazy. ERIC: There’s a sliding glass door and a very small deck out back. Behind that, just trees. We step outside and see our first signs of life. ERIC: oh there's foxes. There's two of them. two little foxes. AJ: Oh my gosh! ERIC: that's adorable. If that's how this ends up, us each holding one of those foxes -- Oh, there's a third! AJ: They live under the porch there in that cabin. ERIC: Turns out the foxes live underneath AJ’s cabin. I am immediately jealous. AJ: Oh my gosh. Baby foxes under the cabin. ERIC: AJ heads off to his fox cabin and leaves me alone… envious, full of doubt, empty of calories... ERIC: I’m already hungry so this should go well. AJ: Hide your food. ERIC: OK. See ya. -music- ERIC: The plan is to meditate for six hours. AJ suggests I rotate activities… one hour meditation… one hour journaling. Repeat. And I’ve decided to focus on just one question... Why did I stop going to church? Like… deep down… really... why? For the first hour, I try this exercise AJ told me about, where you choose two words to focus on… one word while you’re breathing in. The other while you’re breathing out. I sit down in the rocking chair, lean back, and think. ERIC: An in word and an out word. I’m not sure if these are the right kinds of words but let’s just try clarity and calm. Clarity and calm. Clarity and calm. Clarity and calm. Clarity and calm. -music- ERIC: 10:45: I’m staring out the sliding glass door, into the trees out back. My eyes bounce between the leaves, looking for something to settle on. I grip the arms of the chair and rock steadily back and forth. I’m waiting for something to click. 10:57: three giant deer run by. Two of them continue on, but the largest one stops and looks in at me. “It’s a sign” I think. “Is this God? Is God trying to tell me something?” A few seconds later it runs off to catch up to its pals. I’m back to staring at leaves. -music- ERIC: 11:13: I fall asleep. -snoring- ERIC: 11:23 I wake up. I look out the window, at the tree closest to me. It’s an oak… and the bark looks to have the face of an old man in it. He looks confused. Or maybe skeptical. Skeptical of me? “It’s a sign,” I think… and then become acutely aware of how this day is going to go if I keep looking for signs. 11:30… My body begins to stiffen. I haven’t moved in 45 minutes. The tick of the clock on the bedside table seems to be getting louder. And louder. And louder. I haven’t been in such stillness in years. I start to feel that my body is floating. That the whole cabin is floating. That the earth has stopped spinning, gravity has given up, and this is how I’ll float away… alone in a cabin in the woods in Pennsylvania. -music- ERIC: I think about AJ floating away, and the baby foxes underneath his cabin floating away. I think of all the nuns floating away, as their shoes slip off into the sky. I try to recenter… Why did I stop going to church? But my pulse quickens and I become anxious. My mom would tell me when I was little that Mother Teresa had so much faith in God that she would literally levitate while praying. That people had seen this happen. And that maybe I could levitate if I just believed enough. This feels like the opposite of that. I am terrified. After 20 minutes, I force myself to stand up, and it aches. Hour one, done. Five more to go. -music- ERIC: Hour two… Journaling. I pick up the spiral notebook I bought on the way into town. There are measurement conversions listed on the inside… 1 tablespoon equals three teaspoons. Who knew? I decide to follow AJ’s prompt … I want … I fear… I surrender. This feels more concrete… like it might lead to a more tangible answer to my question about why I left church. Page one. I want... I want to be happy. I want to feel safe. I want something to care for. I want someone to care for. -music- ERIC: I want someone to care for me. I want to allow someone to care for me. I want… I want… I want to know what love is. I want you to show me. I want to make someone laugh. Not just smile, but the kind of laugh where you worry your insides might explode out of your nose. I want God to be OK with me wanting that. I want God to want me to want that. Page two. I fear. I fear I’m not wanted. I fear I could sit in this cabin for the rest of my life, until I was nothing but skin on bones, and they’d come to find me and think… it’s a shame. I fear there is no God. I fear the days I’m walking down the street and thinking to myself… Geeze… 60 more years of this? I fear being this sad forever. I fear being seen as sad forever. I fear I’ll have a child as sad as I am. I want an apple. I should have brought an apple. I want to know what happened that made me this way. I fear I’m not a Christian. I fear I am alone. -music- ERIC: I fear I don’t trust anyone and people don’t have time for those who won’t trust them. I fear I’ll never really trust God… And God doesn’t have time for people who won’t trust him. I fear I will be let down. That trust hands over the softest parts of you to hands that are already full and unsteady… I don’t trust my family… I don’t trust my friends… I don’t trust my work or the church or my God or myself. I want a do over. I fear I’d be exactly the same again. Page 3. I surrender… I surrender… This page stays blank. And I stare at it for the rest of the hour. -music- ERIC: I try to read. I lie on the floor. I light one of those little candles at the meditation station. Eventually I just leave the cabin, and spend some time wandering the hermitage, standing in the sun. There’s an outdoor chapel. It’s like a tiny home, but for praying. And inside, I see a wasp crawling across the altar. I watch it circumnavigate the whole structure twice. Watching the wasp, a memory comes to mind, something real and vivid, and I start to write it down in the journal… I’m on the beach, the tide is harsh, I hear voices yelling coming from the water. But before I can finish, it’s somehow 5:30, and I see AJ emerge from his cottage. I feel like I’ve just run a marathon I didn’t train for. AJ, however, is smiling. Calm. Like he just walked out of a day spa. AJ: So how was it? ERIC: I mean I just spent six hours thinking about my crap. So i don’t really know what to make of it yet. How are you doing? AJ: Great. It was powerful. ERIC: Of course it was. ERIC: We pull out our food… AJ his nuts… me, my italian sub… and settle in for dinner at the patio furniture outside our cabins. But before I can ask AJ what was so powerful for him… he wants to know what it was like for me… AJ: You didn’t have any breakthrough experiences? No visions? ERIC: A lot of what I was trying to work through was… this feeling of, like I have a hard time trusting people. I have a hard time opening up to people. And I was just thinking about the prompt you set up and the idea, I want, I fear, I surrender. But the idea of surrendering is a real sticking point for me. I have a lot of trouble trusting God. And trusting God will be around at certain times. Or even God will be that helpful. AJ: Because a lot of the religious answers for God helping or God being present aren’t really that helpful. So why is it you think you stopped going to church this last year? ERIC: I think I had a moment of like, oh i just want to figure my own stuff out. Give me a minute God and let me do that and i’ll come back around. But then a minute turns into two. And then it turns into an hour. I’d been trying for months to pinpoint what that moment was… when I decided I wanted time away from God … And I think I did stumble on it … right at the end of the silence, when I was staring at that wasp. It was a Saturday afternoon last summer… right at the time I had stopped going to church. And some friends and I went to Rockaway Beach, here in New York. Rockaway has these stone jetties that shoot out from the shore into the ocean, and the rip current was particularly strong that day. So, for the most part, we were staying out of the water. But around 5pm, while we all reading our books and magazines, we heard screaming from the water. -music- ERIC: We looked up and two little boys, maybe 10 years old, were stuck on the jetties… the waves were slamming them against the rocks, and the rip current too strong for them to get back in. So people started running to the water, towards the kids. I used to be a lifeguard… so I took off… I dove head first into the water and beelined for them. It took about a minute to get to where they were, and by that point a couple of other people had already made it, they were pulling the kids out. And they were going to be OK. I turned around to swim back to shore. But after 30 seconds of swimming I realized I wasn’t getting any closer. I was stuck in the rip current now. I looked to my right and there was a woman with a boogie board who looked to be in the same situation. We made eye contact and she thrust the boogie board towards me. I grabbed it, and we both held on to it, and tried to push to shore. But we weren’t making any progress. And now the waves were pushing us to the rocks. Large waves, a few feet high. One would come, throw us both underwater. We’d come up for air and immediately another would hit. The boogie board snapped in half and we grabbed each other by the wrist. And I had this thought… oh… this is how people die. Like… actually, die. And then, out of nowhere, this guy with leathery tan skin, captain Ron hair, and flippers on his feet swam up to us and grabbed the woman by her other wrist. Like a human tug boat, he pulled us out past the jettie where there was a sandbar, and for the first time we were both able to stand on our own two feet. We walked around the jetty, and we were able to ride the current back in to shore. When I got home that night I cried for a while. Not because I was afraid of dying. But because I hadn’t felt so taken care of in such a long time. For the briefest moment, I did surrender… I had no other choice but to trust this guy. And the fact that I was only capable of that when my life literally depended on it made me so sad... I don’t trust God, I remember thinking. It seemed like such a basic part of having faith… And I was somehow missing it. Why would I want to be reminded of that every Sunday morning? And so I stopped going to church. ERIC: It’s a little embarrassing to feel like I’m almost 30 and some of the questions i had about the church, it’s like stuff 7 year olds ask. And to be like don’t know that I’ll ever have an answer that’s totally satisfying. AJ: I remember having talks with Leah, telling her, I think I doubted I was saved every day of my life. And she’s like it’s never crossed my mind. ERIC: It’s right about this moment that I recognize what AJ is doing. He’s being a pastor. He’s offering advice, he’s commiserating… He’s offering his own doubts… He sees I’m struggling with this and I think he genuinely wants to help me out. AJ: I think I’ve doubted it every day of my life. ERIC: It’s also right about this moment I realize just how truly difficult AJ’s job is. I grew up in the church. I’m open to going back. He’s doing all the right things a pastor is supposed to do to get me over this hump… I mean, he spent a whole freaking day with me at hermitage in the woods… if there was ever a place to close a deal for Jesus, this is it. But I’m not there. Not yet, at least. And ultimately, there really isn’t much AJ can do. It’s not up to him if I come back. -music- ERIC: It comes down to what might be the most stubborn, complicated force in the entire Universe… the desire to change. It’s my choice. And there’s no hack to get around that. AJ could be the best damn pastor in history and still not overcome that force. -music- ERIC: After the break. One final visit to Restoration Church. BREAK ERIC: When we first started the series, AJ needed to double the size of Restoration Church in order to make it sustainable. That meant growing from about 40 weekly attendees to about 80 by the end of this year. There were a number of factors at play. For one, churches need to fund themselves mostly through offerings… people giving money every Sunday morning. Most church plants set up shop in wealthier or gentrifying neighborhoods, which can make this problem easier to solve. However, Restoration planted in a lower-income neighborhood, where in order to get the same amount of donations you need a lot more people. Check one two check check. Alright, this is my last Sunday Restoration Church. This is both exciting a little sad. In July, I went to Restoration for one final check-in. To see how much had changed over the months… if there were any new people. The first difference you notice… the church has a permanent sign out front now. A big fiberglass logo hanging over the sidewalk. I walk inside and the band is warming up. AJ’s wife Leah is singing backup today. And then I learn something else that’s different… AJ has the week off from preaching… AJ: This is my first two weeks not preaching in a row. ERIC: He’s worked with a few of the church’s elders to have them give the sermons this month. Today, Marc Savage is up. Marc was one of AJ’s first recruits to the church, and one of its involved members. AJ: So he's in the basement stairwell like of like the old baseball junk down that rehearsing his sermon. ERIC: This is probably the biggest change around Restoration since I started. People are taking more ownership of the church. AJ has been building systems around him… men’s ministry… marriage groups… trying to turn this church plant into a normal, functioning church-- one that he and Leah don’t need to make work all on their own. -music- ERIC: The service starts. One thing I remember about the early days of Restoration was that summer months are particularly bad for attendance. Everyone is on vacation. So my expectations for turnout are pretty modest. AJ gets up to make an announcement… for the first time that I’ve seen, he’s being very forward about the state of the church’s finances. AJ: So we're going to take a break at the minute, but I do want to remind you that we are in a season what we are trying to become a self-sustaining Church. ERIC: And I start counting heads…. 1, 2, 3.. AJ: What does that mean? It means we're a church plant that was started with the help of a lot of other churches giving us some financial assistance. ERIC: 24 AJ: That financial assistance is... ERIC: 25 AJ: …running out at the end of this year... ERIC: 26 AJ: ...So we are trying to be a church that is no longer a church plant but an established church. ERIC: 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 adults… 28 kids. Aside from Easter, it’s the most of all the other Sunday’s I’ve visited. I see at least one new family I’ve never met. And a guy sitting alone in back, who tells me he’s from the neighborhood. It’s a good sign… an uptick in what is usually a slow period. So there’s growth. People are taking on leadership roles. It’s all trending in the right direction. But… the thing is… it’s still likely not enough. Not yet. Right now, the people at Restoration give about 8,500 dollars a month to the church. But there are a few outside churches that have helped fill in the gaps for these first three years. Those commitments end later this year. And so to make up the difference, AJ needs to raise $5000 more every month going forward, just from people inside the church. That would mean 10 new people or families donating $500 a month … It’s not impossible… but it does feel pretty far away. This got me thinking about something I’d heard from AJ’s mentor, Doug Logan. Remember, Doug planted a church in Camden, New Jersey-- and he’s maybe the closest thing there is to an expert in inner-city church planting. And over the years, Doug’s come to think whole church-planting system needs a change. Specifically that wealthier churches, ones with big surplus budgets, need to be ok with giving away more to churches in need. Here’s Doug... DOUG: Yes. Yes, but there has to be an ownership and an understanding that that's okay. Jesus doesn't need a Roth IRA. Jesus doesn't need a bank. He wants disciples. And I'm not saying to be foolish with the money and be reckless and not have enough money to pay your salaries and your budget and your electric. I'm saying, man, um, you don't have to save so much sometimes. Don't stack so much. Spend more on Kingdom Ministry. It's a greater return than, you know, 8%. These churches are going to need support for 10 and 15 years. That's just what it is. And I've had people embraced me like that. So I've had a church support us since 2011 and they said they have no interest in stopping. I have a couple of churches like that, but that's just not the the the norm. ERIC: It’s not the norm… because the Silicon Valley style of church planting is, essentially a market-based approach. Supply... demand… if people want your church, they’ll pay for it. What Doug is suggesting, and what AJ is trying, is do this thing for people who can’t necessarily pay for it. It’s a nice dream… But AJ is also realistic. He may not be able to upend the entire church planting infrastructure in the next four months. And so … back at the meditation… when I was nearing the end of my time with AJ, I had to ask him how he was feeling about the rather uncertain future of the church. And his answer surprised me… AJ: Things are just coming together really well. like it's not we're not having some explosion of growth or anything. but. I don't feel like I need that though. Like I feel okay if that didn't happen. ERIC: Most confident I've heard you sound about it. AJ: Hm.. ERIC: AJ, this guy who, just a few months ago told me he needed this church to work… That he wouldn’t be ok if it didn’t… He seems like a different person now. AJ: I don't know what happened to me... But I, kind of, for at least for now, I'm over the comparative stuff. I can't stress about why this visitor is not coming back. I can't control any of that. The people I do have seemed to be growing and changing and excited and loving it. So it's like like just kind of reframing the whole thing and stepping back from me has been um, super helpful. ERIC: Instead of thinking about numbers the way a founder might … are they growing fast enough? Can they double this year? AJ’s thinking more about what each individual number represents. LUKE: Oh that’s Eric. ERIC: Hey Luke what’s going on? LUKE: Hey Eric! ERIC: This is Luke… He just started coming to Restoration a couple months ago. LUKE: My name is Luke CR, I’m not american, I’m all the way from the island of Fiji. ERIC: Luke works in maintenance… He’s always been a bit of a loner… And last Christmas, he was having dinner with his aunt, when she noticed his face was turning pale. So they rushed him to the emergency room… LUKE: I had blood um high blood pressure. That day was like, it was so ridiculous they said I could have been dead if i was like five minutes late. ERIC: wow LUKE: And one of the things that the doctor told me was your life is like a ticking time bomb. So that’s sort of like a turning point in my life, I was like I cannot do this by myself you know. ERIC: Shortly after, he got a text from a friend, named Chantal. Chantal is the drummer for Restoration Church’s worship band. They were looking for a guitar player and she thought… well… I know a guy who plays guitar… LUKE: She knew that I played guitar. So she said come and check us out, ya know, We’ll be jamming on tuesday. So I was just sitting there watching them practicing. ERIC: I think I was there…you’re first night at band practice, the first time you were there LUKE: Yes you were there. Exactly. -music- ERIC: And I gotta say, watching you, you were so uncomfortable that first night. LUKE: Yeah you could tell, cause it’s uncomfortable right? Surfing through the new territory. Surprised you picked that out. ERIC: It was actually my very first day visiting Restoration. Luke brought his acoustic guitar, and kind of just sat in the corner of the room while the band practiced. He strummed along, but he wasn’t plugged into an amplifier or anything. He was quiet. At the very end of the night, the bass player, Justin, pulled out an instrument cable and dragged it over to Luke so that he was plugged into the speakers. The next time I saw Luke was Easter weekend. And he was on stage, a full-fledged band member. It had only taken a month, and he was already in the fold. Laughing, joking with the group. A lot had changed for him… he was spending a couple of days and nights at the church every week... LUKE: Yeah, it’s been really good, and i could see a change in my life and I could feel it in myself physically, getting to know these people they’re awesome. So that’s one of the things that captivate me in coming back to the church as well. ERIC: And for AJ, seeing a transformation like Luke’s take place. Seeing that, in some small way, he has helped another person on this Earth find a dash of belonging… even if it’s just one person a month… That’s the whole game. For a lot of entrepreneurs, the idea that success is out of your control feels like a liability. A cop out even. But talking with AJ… It’s like all the things he would have counted as success don’t matter much anymore… not really. It’s like he’s found some loophole… and he gets to feel at peace whether or not the church makes it. All he had to do was give in… All he had to was the thing that I seem so unable to do… surrender. AJ: So I think that kind of led me to contentment and only after that that I start really feeling like I think this thing could work out. AJ: yeah ERIC: it’s funny. AJ: yeah yeah. ERIC: I’m gonna put this down now, my arm is tired. -music- CREDITS ERIC: This season of StartUp was produced by Simone Polanen, Angelina Mosher, Luke Malone, Bruce Wallace, Kimmie Reglar and Sindhu Gnanasambandan .... Our senior producer is Lauren Silverman. Editing by Lulu Miller and Sara Sarasohn... Peter Leonard mixed the episode. Music by Tim Howard, Haley Shaw and Peter Leonard. For full music credits, visit our website, GimletMedia.com/startup. In just a few weeks we’ve got one more, special church planting story… One from a type of church planter we have not heard from in the last five episodes: ABBY: if a man cannot stop talking about his work, he's passionate and driven. ERIC: Yeah ABBY: but like if you're too passionate and too driven. And you're a woman then they call you a EXPLETIVE. Yeah, am I allowed to say that? ERIC: You're the pastor! ABBY: sometimes I wear my clerical collar just to remind myself that there are no swears. ERIC: A woman. A church planter with two x chromosomes. That’s coming up in just a couple weeks. And, because I have a microphone in front of me … I just want to thank the entire StartUp team one more time --- Lisa Chow, Molly Messick, Lauren Silverman, Bruce Wallace, Heather Rogers, Amy Standen, Simone Polanen, Sara Sarasohn, Peter Leonard, Angelina Mosher, and Sindhu Gnanasambandan. You can follow us on Twitter @podcaststartup. I’m Eric Mennel. We’ll be back in a few weeks, Thanks for listening.

ES News email The latest headlines in your inbox twice a day Monday - Friday plus breaking news updates Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive lunchtime headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts, by email Update newsletter preferences Parents have expressed outrage after racist graffiti reading “Whites not welcome” appeared outside a primary school in north London. The offensive message was daubed on the entrance path leading up to Prince of Wales Primary School, Enfield, where hundreds of children walking to school saw it this morning. Police have since launched an investigation to trace the culprit. Some parents have said it is not the first time graffiti of this nature has been scrawled on the pathway and have complained little action has been taken by the school to remove it. Mother Jasmin Nathan said: “I have two sons aged nine and six who both attend the school and my eldest immediately noticed it before I did and was very inquisitive about it, which broke my heart. “I've been worried all day about how this may affect his school day or god-forbid, any conflict in the playground as children can be unintentionally very spiteful, especially when discussing things they don't have the mental capacity to understand.” Councillor Chris Bond, Enfield Council’s cabinet member for environment, said the graffiti is being removed as a matter of urgency. He said: “We have a large multicultural and harmonious community in Enfield which embraces its diversity. “Racism of any form is unwelcome in this borough. We’d like to thank the people who brought this matter to our attention and enabled us to deal with it promptly.” MP Nick De Bois, Conservative MP for Enfield North, has called on police and council to take swift action to remove the unpleasant message. He said: “Graffiti of any type is deeply offensive, to the vast majority of the public, but particularly so when it's outside a primary school where young children will see it.” Last week a sign appeared outside an east London park which said: “Do not walk your dog here. Muslims don’t like dogs.” Police are investigating the sign which was put up on a sign post close to Bartlett Park, Poplar. The school was unavailable for comment. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact officers at Enfield borough police on 101 quoting reference 5212197/14. Alternatively, to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Gluten Relief: Optimal Digestion Gluten Relief® is specially formulated with DPP-IV activity to support digestion of gluten and casein-rich foods* The powerful digestive formula contains enzymes that support carbohydrate and sugar digestion, given that foods characterized by their gluten content, such as breads and pasta, are also carbohydrate heavy.* Gluten and Casein in Foods Gluten digestion is challenging for many people. Gluten is a starch-protein present in most grains and processed foods. Similarly, casein is a protein found in most dairy products which can be difficult to digest, causing discomfort. Maintaining a gluten-free and/or casein-free (GFCF) diet is the primary way people address digestive issues. However, trace amounts of these proteins can be found in many foods, making avoidance nearly impossible and allowing problems to persist. Foods with hidden gluten can be a problem for unsuspecting and discerning gluten-free dieters. The underlying issue for people suffering from gluten and casein intolerance is their body’s inherent enzymes do not have the capacity to digest the offending substances. Incomplete digestion of these proteins may create digestive discomfort or nutrient deficiencies. Scientists theorize that humans still have not caught up genetically with the introduction of grains to the diet that began nearly 10,000 years ago. Fortunately, advances in biotechnology are striving to bridge that gap. Gluten Relief for Full-Spectrum Protein Digestion Gluten Relief contains DPP-IV (dipeptidyl peptidase IV), an enzyme complex which specifically supports gluten and casein digestion. Our formula includes five additional proteases, each with a specific and unique digesting activity that complements DPP-IV for complete protein digestion. Amylases, lactase and lipase complete Gluten Relief for overall digestive support.* Gluten Relief is designed with powerful proteases to support protein digestion.* Proteins like gluten and casein are large, complex molecules with thousands of amino acid sequences folded and coiled within the molecule, much like a ball of yarn. Without sufficient and specific enzymes to break them down, amino acid bonds within these large proteins can remain inaccessible to enzymes, ultimately resulting in a protein that is only partially degraded. Improper digestion of carbohydrates is often associated with gluten digestion issues. Gluten Relief includes two types of amylase, as well as glucoamylase and cellulose, to support sugar and carbohydrate digestion.* Avoiding gluten and casein in food and everyday products can be difficult. Even while maintaining a GFCF lifestyle, many products can be hidden sources of these proteins and cause problems. Gluten Relief can be used in conjunction with a GFCF diet to support digestion of hidden gluten and casein. Gluten Relief is a comprehensive digestive enzyme formula with DPP-IV activity designed to support overall digestion.* *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Reference: 1) Frontier in Human NeuroScience “Gluten- and casein-free dietary intervention for autism spectrum conditions” Paul Whiteley, Paul Shattock, […], and Malcolm Hooper from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3540005/

On August 5, India revoked the special status accorded to Jammu & Kashmir by abrogating Constitution’s Article 370. While the Valley remains under lockdown with many phone and internet connections snapped and restrictions on the movement of people in place, several musicians have taken the situation as an opportunity to release songs and music videos celebrating the decision. Several of the songs relate to the Modi government’s decision on scrapping Jammu & Kashmir’s special status – referring to, for instance, how men from other states can now have Kashmiri women as their wives. Most of these songs are either in Bhojpuri or in Haryanvi dialects. On August 11, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said, “Now some people are saying we can bring girls from Kashmir also.” A Haryanvi song that anticipates this view was posted on YouTube on August 8, although it carries a disclaimer that it is “for fun and does not intend to hurt anyone”. Here is an example of a song celebrating the permission to buy land in Kashmir Also watch Protests or peace in Srinagar? Videos from the BBC and from Prasar Bharti show conflicting footage Zee reporter’s claims that Kashmir wants development vociferously contradicted by bystanders ‘Nobody is at peace’: Kashmir residents express unhappiness at curbs on communication, movement Read Does the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status violate the terms of accession to India? Two petitions by Kashmiris challenge changes to 370, say Constitution’s basic structure is violated

I think now that the initial coin offering party is coming to a close, now that governments are starting to crack down on all this highway robbery, because let's face it... only government officials are allowed to be this corrupt and get away with it. I think the new party is going to be in forking off of Bitcoin, because after the whole Bitcoin Cash shitcoin fiasco, the word is out, that one could literally print free money out of thin air. With that being said, Bitcoin Gold, and Bitcoin 2x are upon us, and it will be a great month indeed for Bitcoin holders, especially for those who have tons of coins. That's free money out the ass, although, I doubt without the mega powers Jihan Wu and Roger Ver behind these new shitcoins, I highly doubt they will be worth as much. What say you guys and gals, are you excited, or do you think as I do, which is that all of these party tricks will soon highly devalue Bitcoin, in both price and reputation?

Congratulations to Kirk Cameron! His movie Saving Christmas already required a campaign to boost its rating on Rotten Tomatoes… which failed, given that the film has a 0% positive rating. And now, Cameron has the distinction of having the worst film on IMDb. (By a longshot.) The lowest rating anyone can give a movie, in case you’re wondering, is 1. Which means if 0 stars were an option, the score would probably be even lower. Need a basis for comparison? From Justin to Kelly is #23 on the Bottom 100 list. Cameron’s movie is worse than From Justin to Kelly. From Justin to Kelly! Give it a few hours and I’m sure Cameron will complain about how he’s the victim of Christian Persecution. When he does, someone please remind him that God’s Not Dead has an average IMDb rating of 5 stars. Nowhere near the bottom of the barrel. (Thanks to @50shekels for the link)

この４月にサラリーマンとしての生活をはじめました。相変わらず職場では全くモテていないものの、一応何とか遅刻もせずに働いております。 ４月というわけで、お偉い人が何を思ったか新入社員を集めて、ありがた〜い御講話をお垂れなさったりされますわ。まぁ、この御講話が素晴らしくってですね、テープに録音して不眠症の方に配りたいくらいなんですわ。一体どういう脳みそをしていると、この程度のことをこれだけ大勢の人間集めて、こんなに長時間話せるな、やっぱり出世するには厚顔無恥であるべきなのかなと、考えさせられる次第であります。 まぁ、今回は、この手のエラーイ人に向けてですね、どうすれば、新入社員が睡魔との猛烈なバトルをせずにすむ講話になるかを話しておこうと思います。 そこの偉い人。良く聞いておくように。寝たら承知しねぇ。 1.講話と会話は違うことを自覚しろ 一対一で話しているときに、どんなにツマラン話をしたところで、相手を眠らすことはなかなか困難。これは何でかというと、会話はキャッチボールだから。こっちが投げて、相手が取って、また投げ返して。そういうわけで相手も寝てられないわけ。また、キャッチボールってことは、誰に投げているかがはっきりしているわけだ。さすがに「自分に話しているんだ」と思っていれば寝にくい。 ところが、講話というのはキャッチボールじゃない。一対多。いわば単にボールを見せびらかしているだけな訳。そりゃ、普通のボールを何時間も見せたら寝るわな。 そういうわけで、講話をするなら、まず聞いている連中が関心を持つようなボールを持ってこなきゃいかん。どうやって関心を持たせるかはこれ以降に書く。 そして、会話と同様に相手からもアクションをさせることが必要。典型的なのは、「このなかで○○な人手を上げてー」とか「そこの君、これなんでだと思う？」といった質問。これがあるだけで、グッと寝る奴は減る。 2.抽象的な話は止めろ ノーベル賞物の画期的大発見を語るならともかく、どうせお前らレベルは、たいしたことを語れないわけ。せいぜい「人間関係を大切に」とか「社会人として責任感を持とう」とかだろ？そんなもん、誰でもできるわ、クソたわけ。 こういう話を皆様が始めますと、私の脳内には羊さんたちが、めーめーと溢れかえり、さながら朝の新宿駅の様相を呈する訳ですよ。だって、知ってる話だもん。今更いらねぇ話だもん。 そもそも、あんたもその歳になって、何で、こんなあったり前の話をしなきゃと思うわけ？それは、きっと、その教訓に関連した、それなりに苦い経験があるからでしょ。じゃ、何でそれを話さないんだよ。 あんたらお偉方が新入社員に勝っているものって「年季が入っている」ってことでしょ。経験ですよ、経験。これに関しては、間違いなくあんたたちの勝ち。例えあなたが、エクセルちんぷんかんぷんでも、社会経験はあんたの勝ち。それじゃ、その経験を話してよ。俺聞いたことないから。 就職活動の自己PRってのは、単に抽象的発言を並べてもダメなわけ。実際に、どんな苦労をして、どう考え、どう対処したか、ってことを具体的に語って初めて自己PR。それと同じ。 あんたが、若いころに経験した苦労話をしろや。聞いている連中が「うわ、それ、俺の身にも起こるかも」って思わせろ。「それ、困るなー」って悩まさせろ。そういう話を踏まえてなら、結論が多少、しょぼいもんでもOK。ちゃんと聞いていられる。 もちろん、「人間関係なんて、どーでもいいんだよ！」とか「責任をどう逃れるかが出世できるかの分かれ道！」といったような変わった結論なら、抽象論でも、そこそこ聞いていられるけどね。 3.偉い人の格言なんかいらねぇ すーぐ、偉い人の格言を出す奴がいるんだよね。哲学者とか、伝説的経営者とか、戦国武将とかの。 あのね。格言ってのは、その人の人生や行動とセットになって始めて意味を成すわけ。「人の一生は重荷を負うて遠き道を行くが如し」なんてのは徳川家康が言うから意味があるわけで、３歳児が言っても説得力がないでしょう。せめて、そいつの人生の説明を加えて使ってくれ。でも、できることなら自分の人生を語ってくれよ。他人の話じゃなく。 大体、過去の偉い人の格言を援用するのは、「こんな有名な人も、僕チンと同じ事言ってんだよー」って言いたいわけでしょ？んなもん、長々と語ることか。アクセント程度でいいんだよ、格言なんぞ。 4.長く話すな 一時間くらい話す奴がいるんだけど、お前ら何でそんなにヒマなの？偉い奴が暇な会社ってどうなのよ。まとめてから来い。せいぜい、20分だろ。 まぁ、こんな感じかね。分かったか、会社の偉い連中よ。今後は、上司としての自覚を持って講話をたれるように。以上！

We didn’t expect it to come as soon as it did, but Google’s first solely self-branded smartphone, the Google Pixel, is finally here. In light of how mature the smartphone market has become in the last few years, it’s hard for a new phone to stand out as something that takes anything more than a few baby steps forward. This phone isn’t that much different. But what is different is that it isn’t just any Android phone made by one of Google’s partners. This one is Google’s, and that’s special. It’s special because Google really has made an effort at building a good top-to-bottom user experience. It’s special because Google has made some clear — in some cases major — improvements to its software and how it works with the hardware. It’s special because it has a great camera. It’s special because it’s the first Android phone to ship with the Google Assistant. It’s special because it’s the first Daydream-ready smartphone. It’s special because it’s the best portal to Google’s services, full stop. But most of all, I think the Pixel is special because it seems to me that Google’s newly-rebirthed smartphone line has a lot of potential. Yes, there are some things that this phone doesn’t have. But what phone doesn’t? Let’s talk about what the Pixel has going for it. SO WHAT IS THE PIXEL? The Pixel is a new smartphone, and as the company says, it’s #madebyGoogle. It’s the spiritual successor to the Nexus line of old, but with at least one key external difference: there’s no co-branding from another manufacturer. We know that the device was actually manufactured by HTC, but Google is truly claiming this phone as their own. In its marketing, Google is positioning the phone as “Phone by Google” to make sure this is clear. This is Google’s baby. The Pixel has a 5-inch FHD AMOLED display, and the Pixel XL has a slightly larger 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display, but other than that they’re mostly the same. You’ll find a quad-core 64-bit Snapdragon 821 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 12.3MP and 8MP cameras, 32GB of storage, and the usual Bluetooth, NFC, and other connectivity interfaces. The Pixel has a 2,770 mAh battery, while the XL has a 3,450mAh battery. But battery life expectancy is not much different between them — the Pixel XL is a little better. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a review unit for the standard Pixel yet, so this review is solely of the Pixel XL. That shouldn’t matter much, though, because as I just mentioned, the only differences between the two phones are battery life and their display sizes/resolutions. The experience you actually receive with both phones should be nearly identical with the exception of size, because unlike the tricks Apple is pulling with the iPhone 7 Plus, Google isn’t packing any special features in XL to get you to upgrade. It is truly a matter of size preference with the Pixel, and little more. HARDWARE BUILD | The Google Pixel doesn’t exactly have the most stunning a smartphone has ever had, but it’s definitely not bad. It’s going to draw comparisons to its competitors, though — that’s for sure. First, the phone will almost certainly be compared to the iPhone thanks to its antenna lines and large top-and-bottom front bezels. That bottom bezel, sans a home button like the iPhone, is probably the most unsightly part of the Pixel. It’s just a huge chin. The other comparison that this phone will likely draw is to HTC phones, and for good reason. Forget the fact that the antenna line design that many will say the Pixel copies from the iPhone was actually first introduced by HTC. The phone bears some resemblance to the HTC 10, with its sharp edges and side bezels. While it’s definitely not a “copy” by any means, the Pixel does feel a lot like a mix between the iPhone 6S and the HTC 10. It doesn’t have a standout design like the Galaxy S7 edge. Glass back But it does have one hardware design feature that’s completely unique. The back of the phone is actually one third glass, fused together with the rest of the aluminum unibody. While there’s little or no functional purpose to this (Google says it serves to even further improve cellular reception), it does do a good job of giving the Pixel its own outer appearance. If you see a phone with a glass-backed top third like this, it’s guaranteed to be a Pixel (at least for now). And that’s good for Google. Pixel Imprint Sitting atop this glass back is the what was previously known as Nexus Imprint. “Pixel Imprint” is really just the fancy name for the Pixel’s fingerprint scanner. There’s nothing particularly interesting here, but I have to say I’m a huge fan of the smooth glass rear fingerprint sensors. They feel really nice and — at least in my experience — I tend to find them a bit faster and more accurate than others. But that’s not saying much in 2016, because pretty much all phones have lightning fast fingerprint sensors. Size and feel in the hand Like I said, I’ve only really had my hands on the Pixel Xl, so I can’t really comment on the smaller model. But in size, I think the Pixel XL hits a sweet spot for me. Phones like the iPhone 6S Plus or the Huawei Nexus 6P have always been a bit on the big side for me, and the size of the standard iPhone or the Nexus 5X is a bit small. The Pixel XL manages to pack a 5.5-inch display in a body that’s smaller than the iPhone 6S Plus, and that’s a plus for me. But it’s no Galaxy S7 edge, which manages to pack that display in an even smaller form factor. The Pixel XL feels really good in the hand. It has nicely curved edges on the backside, so it feels a lot more like an iPhone and less like the sharper-edged Galaxy devices from Samsung or the HTC 10. I prefer that, but as I said, this phone is probably more vulnerable than any of the entire history of Nexus phones to be compared to the iPhone. I don’t mind that personally, but it’s just the reality of things. There’s a headphone jack! It’s kind of sad that I have to even mention this, but if this is a deciding factor for you, you’ll be glad to hear that the Pixel has a nice headphone jack located right at the top-left side. Personally this wasn’t a big deal to me, and I haven’t really had much problem using an adapter when necessary with the Moto Z, but I understand that this is a deal-breaker for some. I hope that changes soon, because in my humble opinion, it’s about time we move on from the 3.5mm jack. But it’s there if you need it! Good displays While the Pixel doesn’t have the best screens on a smartphone, they’re adequate or better than adequate. And I think you may find this to be a theme throughout this review. In many aspects, the Pixel is “safe” in terms of hardware. Like many phones, it’s not the best in direct sunlight, but this phone gets brighter than the Moto Z for example. It’s more than enough to get the job done, though. I was happy with the colors and vibrance of the display when watching videos and playing games. Fast charging The Pixel has great fast charging. Google says that it can get up to 7 hours of use from only 15 minutes of charging on both the Pixel and Pixel XL, and can attest to this. In fact, I woke up at 7 AM one morning and the phone was completely dead from the night before. I had to be out the house at 8 AM. I plugged in the phone and gave it about a half hour of juice, and that charge got me through the whole day. Speaker & microphones The main earpiece speaker is nice and crisp on the Pixel XL, and I couldn’t ask for more in terms of call quality. But with phones like the iPhone 7 and other Android phones having had stereo speakers for years, it feels like a bit of a downgrade to go to a single bottom-firing mono speaker with the Google Pixel. This is something that’s kind of nitpicky to me (but might be important to you!), but it’s nonetheless unfortunate considering the phone’s price point. But that one speaker sounds fine. I know that this review is full of Galaxy S7 edge comparisons (I apologize, I just think it’s a good benchmark since it’s one of the most popular and best Android phones of the year), but this is yet another case where I would put the two phones about on par with each other. If you have an S7 edge laying around (or you have a friend with one), just try playing music through its single speaker. That’s about what you’re getting with the Pixel. Vibration motor This is just an exercise I like to do every time I review a phone, so bear with me. I’ve found a hobby in obsessing over the vibration motors of phones, and there are some clear winners and losers in the smartphone realm. The clear undefeated champion when it comes to vibration motors — and I say this unapologetically — is the iPhone 7, which barely beats the iPhone 6S. Clear losers include the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, so I think I was justifiably nervous about how this phone would turn out. Thankfully, I’m glad to report that the Pixel has turned out just fine in this area. The motor is no Taptic Engine by any means, but it’s nice and precise and doesn’t produce any audible buzzing when you tap buttons. It’s still pretty weak, but it’s about average compared to other Android phones like the Galaxy S7 edge. It’s not waterproof One of the biggest downsides of this phone’s hardware is that it’s just not waterproof. That’s something that is becoming more and more expected lately at this price point, but you’re sadly not going to find it here. In fact, the Pixel is rated IP53 for dust and water resistance, so that means it’s pretty well dust resistant, but it’s only going to be able to take a splash or two of water before some amount of damage is done. In the coming days we’ll probably see lots of water dunk tests done on the phone, so stay tuned as we find out exactly how water resistant it is compared to other Android phones. SOFTWARE | I’ve long been a fan of “stock” Android, so I’m more than ecstatic to be able to talk about the Google Pixel’s software. I almost always have to list “crappy customized OEM ROM” in the list of downsides when I review Android phones, but I’m glad to say that the Google Pixel is one of only a few exceptions of the year. Yes, 3rd party Android customizations have gotten better in recent years, but they still almost always find a way to get on my nerves. Not so with the Pixel. Its UI is fantastic. Google Assistant The big software selling point for the Pixel — at least for now — is the inclusion of the Google Assistant as a baked in feature on the OS level. It’s still unknown when — if ever — older Nexus devices will have the same integration, so Pixel seems like it will be the only way to get this feature for a while. Replacing the hollow home, multitasking, and back navigation icons of previous versions, the Pixel goes with solid white and the middle one is even more special. Tap and hold it to get some dancing colored bubbles. But tapping and holding it does more than just give you an undeniably-Googley animation. This gesture invokes the Google Assistant, which is basically the voice features we’re all familiar with from Google Now with a far more intelligent and personal helper built on top. Think Apple’s Siri, but Assistant — in my experience — has far better word recognition and accuracy. And of course Google Assistant is powered by Google, so it has access to all kinds of information that Siri might not be able to grab for you. The big thing with Assistant in comparison to Google Now, though, is that is has much deeper control over your phone and it can help you in much more intelligent ways. Assistant can play your news (from your selected sources of course), you can get a summary of your upcoming day, it can learn things about you (try telling it your favorite color!), it can play games with you, and more. You can also tell Google Assistant to do things that you’re familiar with from using Google Now. You can use it manage your shopping list in Google Keep, you can use it make a phone call you can use it to control Google Play Music (and soon other services), you can use it to control your phone’s flashlight, and of course you can get smart answers from Google. Also of note, is that the Google Now on Tap features are still present with Assistant. Simply tap and hold and then scroll down. Allo and Duo Unsurprisingly, Google is using the Pixel and Pixel XL to push its newly-launched duo of messaging apps, Allo and Duo. The phone also ships with both pre-installed, and disables Hangouts by default for most users. If you’re a Project Fi user, the phone will detect that you — obviously — need Hangouts when you first set up the phone and won’t disable it. Adding to the awesome software features of the Pixel, Google is throwing in unlimited full resolution storage of videos and photos in Google Photos. Pixel Launcher One big thing to note here is the Pixel Launcher, which is landing officially for the first time on the Pixel and Pixel XL. It’s an evolution of the long-popular Google Now Launcher (which I’m a big fan of in the first place), and adds some useful features and tweaks. The most obvious is a permanent weather and time widget on the home screen, but the new launcher also has a new app drawer, an easy-to-use Google button in the top-left, and some visual tweaks to make the Pixel unique. Circular icons The most obvious visual tweak that comes hand in hand with the Pixel launcher, is that almost all of Google’s stock applications come with a set of stylized circular icons on the Pixel. It’s a common misconception that this is part of the Pixel Launcher itself (the rounded icons will stick around no matter which launcher you use), but of course using a third-party launcher will allow you to apply icon packs to make them look however you want. Personally, I haven’t decided whether or not I like the new icons. When I first saw them in the leaked images of the Pixel home screen, I had a knee jerk negative reaction, but I have to say that they’ve grown on me in the last several days. Uniformity in size and design is a good thing, I think, but my biggest complaint is that despite Google’s best efforts there’s still inconsistencies. A few of Google’s own apps still don’t have circular icons — Allo, Duo and Keep to name a few — and apps that you download from the Play Store aren’t just going to be automatically re-themed to look good alongside Google’s circular icon set. Another thing that bugs me is Google’s inconsistency with the circular icons. Some of them — like Maps and Calculator — fill the whole circle, while others look oddly empty surrounded with whiteness. Would be nice if Google would commit one way or the other. Google Photos Google Photos isn’t new of course, but the Pixel — as was long expected — ships with some extra Google Photos goodness beyond how great the app already is. Instead of taking up Google Drive space, photos and videos taken with the Pixel will be added to your Google Photos app in their full resolution for free. It’s unlimited full-resolution storage and backup for all of your photos and videos (even videos in 4K!). That’s unprecedented and alone is a pretty compelling selling point for the Pixel. “Moves” There’s a new section in the Settings app called “Moves,” which includes some quick gestures for accessing functions of your phone. Currently the section has three options, including “Jump to camera” for double tapping the power button to open the camera, and “Flip camera” for switching between front-facing and rear-facing camera with the flick of a wrist. The most notable option, though, is the “Swipe for notifications” option which lets you swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification shade. You might remember this feature from the Honor 8 and other Huawei phones. Daydream-ready! Another huge software upside with the Pixel and Pixel XL is that they are the first Daydream-ready Android phones. This doesn’t mean much yet, because Google’s Daydream View headset hasn’t even shipped yet (we’ll be getting ours for review soon!), but it’s a big plus if you see that as something that you might be interested in later this year. I tried out Daydream at the Google event on October 4th, and I was impressed to say the least. It’s a nice middle ground between PSVR and Cardboard. Google Support Another great software addition with the Pixel and Pixel XL is a new Support tab in the Settings app. If you ever run into any problems with your Pixel, Google has added the ability to quickly contact support via a phone call or a chat. While that might be a deciding feature for enthusiasts, I could see the average smartphone user being enticed by this. It’s definitely nice to have support on call if you ever need it. Wallpapers Another addition that might go unnoticed by some is the wide selection of some great high-quality wallpapers on the Pixel and Pixel XL. Of course you can choose from your own photos, but there are also “Live Earth” wallpapers of different locations around the world that move as you interact with your phone, “Live data” wallpapers that change based on the time or weather conditions, and some galleries of other high-quality images that are built in. You can also turn on a “daily wallpaper” that changes every day. Overall, these are solid improvements, and keep your phone feeling fresh. PERFORMANCE | Benchmarks I’m not a huge fan of benchmarks, because I don’t think they very well capture how well a phone performs in real life. But I think it’s worth noting that the Google Pixel XL has landed — at least based on my tests — as one of the most powerful phones ever analyzed by Geekbench. In single core, it was only consistently beaten by the Galaxy S7 edge, the Galaxy S7, and the Xiaomi Mi 5. In multi-core, it was only consistently beaten by the Galaxy S7 edge, the Galaxy S7, and the Galaxy Note 7. Camera performance One of my biggest praises of the Pixel and Pixel XL is the camera app’s performance. The Nexus devices were long plagued with low-quality cameras and bad camera performance, and Google has basically fixed these problems completely with the Pixel. In fact, the camera might be my favorite part of the phone. It’s super fast, there’s no lag, and the viewfinder consistently pops up in 1 or 2 seconds flat. And that brings us to the cameras themselves, which are also impressive to say the least… CAMERAS | When Google announced the Pixel, the company claimed that it has the best camera on a smartphone, at least according to the latest DxOMark scores. As of the time of this review, the Google Pixel has beaten the HTC 10, the Galaxy S7 edge, the Sony Xperia X Performance, the Moto Z, and the iPhone 7 to name a few. It’s worth noting that the iPhone 7 Plus has yet to be reviewed by DxOMark, but the Pixel nonetheless should be a step up compared to all of the other Android flagships. Is it? Check out the following photos, but please understand that I’m not a photographer by any means. I would take these as an example of what the average person would be taking with the Pixel on a daily basis, not as some of the best that the Pixel can take: Well, we don’t have every single Android phone on hand to compare it to, but we do have a Galaxy S7 edge, one of the next -best Android phones according to DxO. Based on my initial impressions over the last few days, DxO’s benchmark holds up pretty well. The Pixel does indeed have one of the best cameras I’ve ever used on a smartphone — based purely on looking at the photos. But as someone who isn’t really picky about their photos in the first place, I’d be fine with the Galaxy S7. EIS is the new OIS (almost) One thing that I have to rave about is this phone’s EIS when recording video. The lack of OIS on this phone was one of the biggest “don’t knock it ’til you try” moments I’ve had in my many few years of reviewing phones. The lack of OIS was one of the biggest “really, Google?” moments for me at the October 4th announcement event, but I have been proven so wrong. The EIS that Google is packing on this phone is borderline magic in my opinion — I think it even beats hardware OIS in some cases. CONCLUSION | Switching to Pixel If you’re on the fence about making the switch because switching from the “other side” (read: an iPhone) sounds difficult, Google has you covered. The Pixel comes with an OTG dongle, which might sound unfamiliar, but it’s just a little adapter used for plugging in your other phone directly to the Pixel. If you’re coming from an iPhone, you can just plug it straight into your new phone and Google will walk you through moving over all your data when you first set up the phone. Live Cases Another interesting tidbit that is worth mentioning is that Google offers some really nice first-party cases to go with your Pixel or Pixel XL. They’ve been around since around the time of the launch of the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, and let you customize your phone and make it your own. You can create a Live Case with a Google Maps silhouette of your favorite place, you can create a case using a photo you upload, or you can pick from a pre-selected gallery of art. These cases aren’t cheap, but — on top of being customizable — they also add functionality to your phone with an extra button on the back. Value This is a Google-made package from top to bottom, and yeah, it has its compromises, but it very well could be the start of something great. That’s what I think is so special about it. The idea of what Google might be able to accomplish going forward is exciting, and the Pixel is a glimpse at a future where Google’s own hardware competes with the Samsungs and Apples of the world — and maybe even wins. Sadly, though, the package you get with the Pixel comes at a cost. The standard Pixel starts at $650, and the Pixel XL starts at $769. You can get financing through either Verizon or the Google Store, but these phones are unlocked and will work with most major carriers. At these prices, the phones aren’t a no brainer. But I also don’t think it’s an outrageous asking price either — especially if you manage to get one of those limited edition blue models and you get affordable cellular service through Project Fi. The elephant(s) in the room, I think, are the Chinese-made budget offerings like the OnePlus 3. In terms of raw specifications, the OnePlus 3 is very comparable to the Pixel — and in some ways better. It’s also a whole 2 or 3 Benjamins cheaper. Honestly, it’s a difficult situation. The Pixel really is great. And in some ways it’s one of the best phones ever. Early — and perhaps exclusive — access to Google’s latest software features is hard to pass up for some. It has near-stock Android with valuable software additions on top and reliable performance. It has the Snapdragon 821. But is it worth the extra cash? I can’t answer that question for you. I think for me, the answer is yes. I would pick this phone over most Android phones. But I’m also a big fan of Google software, and I prefer to use Android the way Google intends it. None of the other OEMs can offer this flavor of Android that has this degree of Google’s mark and influence. All things considered, these phones aren’t perfect. But no phones are, and if you’re one who loves Google’s software and services as much as I do, they might be the imperfect phones for you. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:

One of the two states in the country that still exert total government control over the booze business soon could be handing the reins of the liquor industry back to the private sector. A Republican-backed plan to privatize Pennsylvania's 600 state-operated liquor stores won historic support this week, advancing out of the House and marking the closest the state has come to unraveling its Depression-era -- and some say antiquated -- system. "We're actually telling our citizens that we know you're adults and you should have the ability to choose, and you should have convenience," Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who supports the bill, said at a news conference. Pennsylvania and Utah stand alone as the only states that control the wholesale and retail arms of the liquor business. Both would be sold under the Republican plan, which faces opposition from Democrats and union critics, who say it could cost 5,000 jobs. Lawmakers have tried before, and failed, to privatize the industry, but on Thursday the state House approved the bill on a 105-90 vote after about seven hours of debate. No Democrats supported it. The bill would give existing beer distributors the priority in purchasing 1,200 wine and spirits licenses. It also would allow groceries to sell wine and enshrine their current ability -- won through court rulings -- to sell takeout beer. The bill now heads to the Senate side, where it likely will face changes, according to MyFoxPhilly.com. Corbett and other Republican supporters argue that the state's system is outdated and that the liquor business is not a function of government. They say private businesses would improve customer service, create jobs and put an end to a Depression-era system of state control that was almost unheard of across the country. They said sales would increase in part by recapturing customers from Pennsylvania who purchase wine and liquor from other states, particularly New Jersey. Democrats warn, though, that it would put thousands of state store employees out of work, cost more and generate less revenue than supporters predict and that it would make alcohol more widely available, bringing with it a range of social problems. "This is not a business-friendly bill," Democratic state Rep. Margo Davidson said. "This measure has the potential to destroy small businesses and ravage communities." Both sides said the proposal was likely to see changes in the state Senate, where the Republican leader said discussions would soon begin regarding how that chamber will respond. Corbett said the fees from the licenses -- at least hundreds of millions, perhaps as much as $1.1 billion -- should go to improving public education. But the bill does not dictate how the money is spent, only that it should be deposited in a special account. Legislative officials said the spending would be determined in separate, future legislation. Democrats were skeptical of the revenue projections. "To get to that $1.1 billion, you'd almost have to have a perfect storm," said Rep. Joe Markosek, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. "Something far lower is far more likely to occur." Under the bill, the state would continue to operate liquor stores in otherwise underserved markets until the number of stores dips below 100. It provides for special job placement benefits for displaced Liquor Control Board employees. State taxes, including the 18 percent Johnstown Flood Tax, would continue to be levied, and supporters noted that the private retail operators would also be contributing payroll and business taxes. It also provides a system by which those buying licenses can finance them over four years. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Daredevil season 3 is coming red hot into New York Comic-Con, as the early trailers and marketing have promised that this third season will truly be something remarkable. The panel opens with Marvel TV Head Jeph Loeb, who teased that we will see something we've never seen before. We started off with an awesome new sizzle reel of Marvel Netflix Universe, using footage from the latest seasons of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Punisher - and ending with a quick tease of Daredevil Season 3 footage. Loeb takes time to thank the fans for making that Marvel Netflix sizzle reel possible. New showrunner Erik Oleson is brought out first, then new cast members Jay Ali (Agent Nadeem), Joanne Whalley (Sister Maggie), Wilson Bethel ("Dex" or maybe "Bullseye???) - as well as returning cast members Elden Henson (Foggy), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk) and Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock / Daredevil). Loeb starts off by revealing that Charlie Cox got married last week, and introduces his wife, Sam Thomas, who is in the crowd. Unfortunately there's not time for a honeymoon, as Cox and Henson are going on an international promotional tour for Daredevil right after this. The first question Loeb asks is where Cox is as the season begins - and what his relationship with Sister Maggie is all about. Cox jokes about all the messed up things that have happened to Matt Murdock in season 1, 2, and The Defenders, and says by the start of season 3, Matt is at his lowest point yet. He praises Whalley and the energy she brought to the role and set, and is excited to show fans that story. Whalley confesses to being a fish out of water who never read a comic and understands nothing about Comic-Con. She says she thought the experience would be "a bit dodgy," but has truly been surprised by how great and talented here castmates and crew are. Loeb presents new footage: The clips sees Matt Murdock laid out in the convent, with Sister Maggie attending to his wounds. Maggie and Matt's conversation hints at his past being raised in the convent, and she confirms she knows he's Daredevil. She asks if he faked his blindness, and at first Matt is sarcastic with her, but then confesses to how his powers work, when she asks if she's being unfair. Matt seems to think he's done being Daredevil, as he's def in one ear and injured in key places, but Maggie assures him he'll be on his feet again - even if "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen" is done. When his wounds are dressed, Sister Maggie hints that when Matt is more healed, he must go. Olsen describes the orverarching themes of season 3 - both telling an intimate character story, and a metaphorical one about "narcissistic tyrants who use fear to divide." And how friendship, faith, and bravery can conquer those forces. He teases how even side stories for Karen and Foggy are crucial this season, adding themes like the importance of the free press and social justice through the law. A second clip is shown at Foggy's family's butcher shop, as Karen has apparently heard rumor of a vigilante in a black suit operating in Hell's Kitchen, and is convinced Matt is back in action. However, Karen can't convince Foggy, who at first tells her Matt is "gone" until he says outright that Matt is "dead" when Karen pushes him. Karen storms out, and Foggy's family is left shaking their heads. Woll says for Karen, holding on to that hope of Matt being alive as a way of staying out of a spiral into an abyss. Jay Ali's Agent Nadeem is revealed as being the FBI agent who's put in charge of Wilson Fisk. A clip is shown where Nadeem is meeting with Fisk in prison, but his skeptical that Fisk will respond to him. Fisk stares at the man and asks if he has anyone in his life he loves and would do anything for. Nadeem thinks it's a threat - but actually, Fisk is referring to Vanessa, and the scene ends with him saying "I want to make a deal." Ali jokes that things go very well for Nadeem by taking that deal. However, it seems like they will not. D'Onofrio describes Fisk's power to see a "disease" in people that he can stoke, in order to get what he wants: Vanessa. He then references the "gnat" who is constantly bothering him. Cox takes the gnat comment in stride, praising D'Onofrio and his return, which helps elevate his own game. Next, Loeb teases that we need to see some action, and asks Olsen if he has any to share. Olsen states that he wanted to have sequences with real consequences; wanted Daredevil to lose some fights; and boasts that he has topped the Marvel Netflix "Hallway Fight Sequence" tradition. He reveals that the crew had to stop filming for a whole day, just to rehearse. ...Instead, Loeb shares a different scene, in which Matt Murdock surprises Marvel Netlfix shady lawyer Ben Donovan in his car, to get info on Wilson Fisk and how he cut a deal with the FBI. Donovan reveals that Vanessa is the reason, but Matt is interrupted as FBI agents come onto the scene. Matt then uses a combination of stealth and combat to take down the agents and get away. A second scene is show in which Nadeem is transporting Fisk via SUV convoy, but the convoy is ambushed by Albanian hitmen looking for payback. The scene is shown from Fisk's POV, as the truck has flipped, and all the FBI agents are blown away. Just when it looks like Fisk is dead, "Dex" appears and takes down every assailant with precision and brutality. A full trailer of his character is shown, and Loeb and Bethel confirm: This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe Bullseye! WATCH: The Daredevil Season 3 Bullseye Trailer HERE! Charlie Cox immediately drew the Bullseye target on Bethel's forehead, while Loeb called it the "worst kept secret at Marvel." Olsen describes how he wanted this to be a full origin story for a character as iconic as Bullseye, weighing the light and dark of Dex until he ultimately slides into the abyss. Bethel teases that Dex's mind and backstory gets "weird," and Olsen adds that Marvel let them really delve deep into creating their version of the character. In between Bethel getting teased about how ridiculous he looks with the target on his head, D'Onofrio teases how the Kingpin gets into Dex's head to help push him towards Bullseye, describing the intensity that he and Bethel managed to create, and the "100% effort" they put in. When it's revealed that Nadeem and Dex are friends, Ali jokes that his character "will have a lot to answer for," between aiding Kingpin, and helping create Bullseye. The Q&A revealed how the Fisk voice was created; the awesome scripts and story Olsen has for season 3; the epic hallway fight of this season; and Karen's revelatory backstory. We also get the usual "Are the Defenders Coming Back?" and "When will the Marvel Netflix characters be in the MCU?" which ended badly with a belligerent fan pestering Loeb. We ended with two final surprises, which Loeb unveiled: A Daredevil Bullseye fight! The sequence takes place in the New York Bulletin newsroom, as Foggy enters to meet Karen, only to find all the reporters slaughtered. "Daredevil" is standing over one of the bodies, and when he sees Foggy, he tosses a billy club aimed right at Foggy's heart. The club is caught by the real Matt Murodck at the last second, and after sizing each other up, Matt asks the impostor "Who are you?" to which Dex/Bullseye responds, "Daredevil." The two brawl all over the newsroom; Whenever Matt is up close, he gains the upper hand; whenever there's any distance, Bullseye picks him apart using whatever office supplies are in reach. A cat-and-mouse game of hide and seek results in some crazy Bullseye trick shots that keep knocking Matt around; finally Murdock uses a false target or two to get in close, and goes for the KO. He almost wins, but Bullseye reaches nearby pair of scissors, which he tosses into Matt's collarbone. Matt goes down and Bullseye drops a supply shelf on him and knocks him out with a brutal boot to the face. We're left with sirens int the distance while Bullseye stands triumphantly - with nothing standing between him, Karen, Foggy, and the rest of the reporters hiding in a back office. It doesn't look good, folks... Daredevil season 3 premieres on Netflix starting on October 19th.

“We are not alone in the universe. And I aim to prove it.” - Peter Davenport

Warner Brothers Pictures/YouTube “The clown wasn’t in the scenes that were shot here, but there was a red balloon used in one of the scenes. When they were done shooting, some of the helium had come out and the balloon was left behind and was bobbing up and down in our driveway. My son ran out to play with it and I immediately warned him ‘don't touch that — it's not just any balloon.'" The West Montrose Covered Bridge plays a large part in the historical significance of Waterloo Region. As the oldest and only remaining covered bridge in Ontario, the “Kissing Bridge” is a rare and cherished piece of Ontario history. Local historian Rych Mills explains why this bridge is significant to the region’s history. Warner Brothers Pictures/YouTube “The West Montrose Covered Bridge is one of the two great iconic symbols of Waterloo county region. That bridge was never destroyed by high winds or floods; it's a survivor. When people can put their hands on the bridge and drive through it, they fall in love with it. That's why it's popular. It gives you an experience beyond a picture.” Last summer, film crews for It chose to shoot several of their scenes in southern Ontario. West Montrose, Port Hope and Elora became the backdrop for many sections during the film. Mills theorizes why the crew chose West Montrose Covered Bridge as one of their set pieces: “They likely chose that bridge for its dramatic look more than its historical significance. Having a clown in a covered bridge would be quite scary.” The Kissing Bridge isn’t the only historical landmark featured in the It trailer as the Elora Quarry also makes a cameo within the preview for the movie. In one shot, the actors in the film jump into the quarry — an activity which in real life is frowned upon due to safety concerns. Warner Brothers Pictures/YouTube Ian Hunter photo It’s unsure how much screen time will be devoted to these locations in the full-length movie. Regardless of how brief the scenes may be in the movie It, witnessing these local landmarks in a feature Hollywood film may pique the interest of local residents. Especially in the case of the West Montrose Covered Bridge, visiting a beloved historical site is like being transported back in time. If anything, Brun hopes this film raises awareness for these historical sites and gives moviegoers a new appreciation for these local treasures. “After watching the movie, people might Google the West Montrose Covered Bridge and they'll soon realize it's the last of its kind in Ontario. They really should come see it because it's an important part of Ontario’s history.”

Russia's Syria pullback: A catalyst for peace? By Jim Muir BBC News Published duration 15 March 2016 Related Topics Syrian civil war image copyright AP image caption Russia has organised welcoming ceremonies for its troops arriving home from Syria Vladimir Putin's decision to pull much of his forces and air power out of Syria took the world by surprise. But it really should not have. He has done exactly what he said he would do when he staged his surprise intervention nearly six months ago. At that time, he said he had two goals: To stabilise the situation of the Syrian government, and to prepare the way for a "compromise political settlement" of a crisis that is now five years old. It may be unusual for world leaders to mean what they say, or to say what they really mean, especially when it comes to wars, where thin ends often become fat wedges. But Mr Putin's intervention in Syria made perfect sense from Russia's point of view, and so now does his decision to de-escalate. It was never really about the militants of self-styled Islamic State (IS), though that was a large part of the cover story and took on greater significance after the bomb explosion on a Russian airliner over Sinai at the end of October. image copyright EPA image caption President Putin's forces have shored up government areas against rebel attacks, signalling they will not allow the Syrian government to be overthrown or Damascus to be overrun image copyright AP image caption Russian air power has played a key role in checking rebel advances in Syria image copyright AFP image caption There is now a more level playing field between the forces of President Assad and the rebels The Russian intervention was prompted above all by the fact that the Saudis, Turks, Qataris and probably Americans had stepped up and co-ordinated their support for rebel groups, which were also increasingly pulling together and starting to pose a real threat to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The Russians, and President Assad's Iranian allies too, risked losing their strategic investment in Damascus. So both stepped up their involvement. The result is now a level playing field. With Russian and Iranian help, the Syrian forces have straightened out their defensive lines, regained some strategic territory, and put the rebels on the back foot. But overall victory could only have been achieved at a massive cost which neither Russia nor Iran could afford, with every chance that it would lead to an open-ended sectarian war with a strong regional dimension. The Russians could very easily have found themselves bogged down in something reminiscent of their ill-fated Afghan expedition, facing the same array of jihadists backed by the Saudis and their allies - in all probability some of the actual veterans from the Afghan academy of jihadism. President Assad, flushed with borrowed success, may have wanted to go all the way, apparently imagining his minority Alawite-dominated government could simply re-impose its control over the Sunni majority as though the past five years and more than a quarter of a million deaths had not happened. image copyright AP image caption Both the Russians and the Iranians are eager not to get bogged down in Syria image copyright AP image caption The ambitions of Saudi Arabia and other backers of the rebels have been quashed by the Russian intervention But the Russians clearly judged that to be a disaster course. They saw their job as being to shore up the government areas, signal unmistakably that they would not allow the government to be overthrown or Damascus overrun, and hand over to a rebalanced political process. For Bashar al-Assad, the message is clear: He will have to curb his enthusiasm. Can he expect greater indulgence from the Iranians? The signs so far are negative. Seen from Tehran, the prospect of trying to use Iraqi, Lebanese and other Shia proxy militias, and increasingly their own assets, to control the entire Sunni heartland straddling Iraq and Syria - including IS and rebel-held areas - opens up a daunting prospect of unending turmoil, just as it would for the Russians. So it is back to Geneva. The prospects there may not look bright, but they are certainly better than they ever have been before, because pretty much all the outside players are finally on the same song sheet, above all the Russians and Americans. The ambitions of Saudi Arabia and other backers of the rebels must have been quashed by the Russian intervention, and held back by the knowledge that a further lurch of the balance in the rebels' favour would trigger another limited counter-move by President Putin. That in no way guarantees that an end to the war is at hand. There could be a long period of strategically limited combat, or an indefinite extension of the current relative truce, without it translating into a stable settlement. But there is strong momentum, especially from the Americans and their allies, to push a settlement that would allow all parties to turn against IS. For that to happen, the Russians would have to deliver the Syrian government side and also Iran, while the US would have to rein in its currently somewhat headstrong regional allies, notably the Saudis. President Putin has done something the Americans could not have: Recalibrated the situation on the ground, and set himself up as a key player in the settlement game. But what kind of settlement could work? The idea of straightforward democracy in a united Syria would not, from Russia and Iran's viewpoints. They would lose their strategic investment, because that would empower the majority Sunnis, just as it did with the majority Shia in Iraq. At present the only formula that looks viable for holding both countries together and satisfying the outside powers is a loose confederation, with a great deal of power devolved to regions, on a largely sectarian basis. More on the Syria conflict image copyright AFP

Elysa Gardner @elysagardner, USA TODAY Geoffrey Holder, a multifaceted artist whose impact on dance, design and pop culture was felt for more than four decades, was, by his own admission, best known for pitching a soft drink. Holder, who died Sunday at 84 after a bout with pneumonia, became a familiar figure in the '70s and '80s as the face and voice of 7Up ads. A native of the West Indies with an expressive face and booming baritone, he would pop up against tropical backgrounds, trumpeting the "absolutely marvelous" taste of the product — always stressing the "ahhh," to emphasize his distinctive accent. Successful as they were, those ads didn't hint at the talents of the man who appeared in them. An accomplished dancer and choreographer, he also distinguished himself as a painter, sculptor, photographer, costume designer and composer. He created dances, music and costumes in his work for such prestigious companies such as Alvin Ailey and the Dance Theater of Harlem, and in 1975 won Tony Awards both for choreography and costume design for his work on The Wiz, an all-black adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz that he also directed. In that show and with other projects, Holder brought the traditions he had absorbed as a student of art and dance in Trinidad and a young artist in New York to his craft with a seamless energy, long before the term "multiculturalism" had become part of the pop vernacular. Holder's career on Broadway stretched back to 1954, when he appeared in the musical House of Flowers, a collaboration between Truman Capote and Harold Arlen. His next Main Stem appearance was in a historic 1957 revival of Waiting For Godot, in which he played Lucky. Holder appeared again in the 1964 revue Josephine Baker. For his post-Wiz return, 1978's Timbuktu!, Holder charged himself with direction, choreography, costume design and even the illustration of the Playbill program cover. He was also a prolific screen actor, his noted roles including a Voodoo-practicing villain in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die and the ruler of a floating island in 1967's Doctor Dolittle. Holder returned to his musical background in a 1982 film adaptation of Annie, playing the good-natured bodyguard and servant Punjab. Whatever element of caricature may have existed in some of the roles Holder took on, the vivacity and accessible elegance that informed his creative work was always present, and palpable.

The Gears of War movie adaptation is moving ahead with Battleship and Ted producer Scott Stuber helming the long-delayed project. Variety reports that Stuber will be co-developing the script with Epic Games, though no specific writer, distributor or "talent" has been secured. That being said, Stuber and Universal are about to begin talks shortly. Of course, these talks may not ever result in anything, as was the case with the Halo and BioShock films due to "creative differences between the film studio and video game company," according to Variety. While Stuber's only credit making a movie based on a game was the almost universally slagged Battleship, he's backed some good movies, too. Like Role Models. Now that I mention it, anyone else think Seann William Scott would make a pretty good Baird? I don't see Paul Rudd making a good Marcus, though.

First-line platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard of care in the majority of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without comorbidities and with an optimal performance status [1]; this excludes patients with oncogenic driver alterations, such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation (in almost 50% of patients of Asian ethnicity compared to 15% in the Caucasian population [2]) or the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) re-arrangement (in 5% patients independently of ethnicity [3]), who can be treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. However, even in the era of maintenance therapy, platinum-based chemotherapy only results in a median progression-free survival (PFS) of approximately 6 months and a response rate (RR) of approximately 30% [1]. Therefore, significant advances are eagerly awaited. A deeper understanding of tumor-immune interactions and development of immune checkpoint inhibitors has dramatically changed the therapeutic landscape of NSCLC and other malignancies. The immune system recognizes and is poised to eliminate cancer [4]. Immune checkpoints refer to a variety of inhibitory pathways that are crucial in regulating the duration and amplitude of physiological immune responses in peripheral tissues in order to minimize collateral tissue damage [5]. However, these immune checkpoint pathways can be co-opted by cancer cells, thus circumventing immune destruction [4]; indeed, this is a hallmark of cancer [6]. In NSCLC, expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1, B7-H1) reflects an immune-active microenvironment and is a mechanism designed to evade elimination by the immune system [7]. Exhausted T-cells in the microenvironment show overexpression of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), which binds to PD-L1 and decreases effector cytokine production and cytolytic activity, leading to the failure of cancer elimination [8]. This knowledge has prompted the development of immune checkpoint inhibitors – different monoclonal antibodies that bind either to PD-1 or PD-L1 and hamper immune evasion – as new treatment strategies in advanced NSCLC. Four randomized phase III trials have reported a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS) with immune checkpoint inhibitors compared with docetaxel in patients with platinum-refractory advanced NSCLC. These are the CheckMate 017 trial in patients with squamous NSCLC [9]; the CheckMate 057 trial in patients with non-squamous NSCLC (both trials testing nivolumab, a monoclonal-antibody anti-PD-1) [10]; the KEYNOTE-010 phase II/III trial with pembrolizumab [11], which also binds to PD-1 (inclusion restricted to patients with at least 1% PD-L1 expression on tumor cells); and the OAK trial with atezolizumab [12], a monoclonal antibody against PD-L1. Of note, in the KEYNOTE-010 study [11], the magnitude of benefit with pembrolizumab was correlated to PD-L1 expression, showing increased benefit in patients with tumors with strong PD-L1 expression (defined as expression on at least 50% of tumor cells, regardless of the staining intensity with the 22C3 clone) [11]. On the basis of these trials, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved nivolumab and pembrolizumab as second-line therapies, with the latter being restricted to tumors expressing PD-L1. The FDA has also recently approved atezolizumab for the management of previously treated patients with advanced NSCLC. In the absence of head-to-head comparisons or clear biological differences between these agents, and no significant differences in toxicity profile (except a slight increase in immune-related adverse events (AEs) and pneumonitis with anti-PD-1 inhibitors) [13], recommendation of a given treatment over another is not yet possible. The 3-year OS of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with these drugs after failure with platinum-based chemotherapy is approaching 20% [14]. This response, along with an improved safety profile, has prompted increasing interest in testing these agents in the first-line setting. Anti-PD-1 antibodies as a single agent in patients with PD-L1-positive NSCLC Pembrolizumab The phase III KEYNOTE-024 trial comprises patients with advanced and strongly PD-L1-positive NSCLC [15]. A total of 1942 patients were screened for enrolment; 1653 had evaluable samples and 500 (30.2%) patients had tumors with PD-L1 expression ≥ 50%. A total of 305 patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomized to pembrolizumab (200 mg every 3 weeks for up to 35 cycles or until documented progressive disease) versus four to six cycles of standard of care platinum-based chemotherapy (platinum/pemetrexed, platinum/gemcitabine, or carboplatin/paclitaxel) as first-line treatment. Pemetrexed maintenance therapy was received by 30% of patients with non-squamous histology. In addition, 43.7% of patients in the control arm crossed over per protocol to pembrolizumab upon disease progression. Patients were excluded from the trial if they were harboring EGFR mutations or ALK translocations, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ≥ 2, had untreated brain metastasis, or were receiving any dose of oral steroids for an autoimmune disease. The primary endpoint of the trial was the median PFS. Compared with standard first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, pembrolizumab significantly improved the primary endpoint from 6.0 to 10.3 months (hazard ratio (HR), 0.50; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.37–0.68; P < 0.001). The RR according to the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) (44.8% vs. 27.8%; P < 0.001) and OS (not reached in both arms; HR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41–0.89; P = 0.005) were also improved, with a 1-year OS of 70% versus 54% [15]. The benefit of pembrolizumab with respect to PFS was evident in all subgroups examined according to sex, age, histology, smoking status, and brain metastases at baseline. However, the benefit was lower in female and never-smoker patients (probably related to the lower mutational load in this population [16]), and the greatest benefit to PFS was observed in patients with squamous histology (HR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.17–0.71). Grade 3, 4, or 5 treatment-related AEs also favored pembrolizumab (26.6% vs. 53.3%). The incidence of grade 3–4 immune-mediated AEs was 9.7% with pembrolizumab [15]. Pembrolizumab had a clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life compared to platinum-based chemotherapy [17] (Table 1). Table 1 Immune checkpoint inhibitors in first-line treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients Full size table The magnitude of benefit in the control arm was consistent with historic controls [18], suggesting that pembrolizumab efficacy is not overestimated for an ineffective control arm. However, it is unknown whether the survival benefit was due to pembrolizumab treatment being intrinsically more potent as a first-line treatment or because crossover was limited to < 50% of the patients in the control arm. Indeed, trials in patients with EGFR-mutant or ALK-rearranged NSCLC have had much higher rates of crossover from chemotherapy to personalized treatment after platinum-based chemotherapy progression (65% in EGFR-mutant [19] and 70% in ALK-positive populations [20]), leading to a lack of survival differences between treatment arms. The clear benefit for OS could also be due to a potentially lower efficacy of pembrolizumab in platinum-pretreated patients than in chemo-naïve patients, whereas, in the same settings, targeted therapies yield the same benefit [21, 22]. In the KEYNOTE-024 trial, 11.7% of patients in the pembrolizumab arm had previously treated brain metastases at baseline; the PFS benefit in this subgroup was similar to that in patients without such metastases at baseline (HR, 0.55 vs. HR, 0.50). The efficacy of pembrolizumab in patients with PD-L1-positive (>1%) NSCLC with untreated or progressive asymptomatic brain metastases measuring between 5 and 20 mm in diameter has also recently been tested in a phase II trial that reported a cerebral response rate of 33% [23]; the median duration of confirmed brain responses was 6 months. Approximately 17% of NSCLC patients have brain metastases at baseline [24]. In our opinion, supra-tentorial asymptomatic brain metastases should not be considered exclusion criteria for immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. The risk of brain metastases increases over time due to the prolonged survival of patients with advanced NSCLC [25]. Therefore, further investigations are needed to determine optimal treatment combinations with brain radiotherapy, sequences of treatment, and safety [26]. Globally, pembrolizumab results from KEYNOTE-024 [15] were consistent with the efficacy observed in the KEYNOTE-001 study [27] in the subgroup of chemo-naïve patients. The FDA approved pembrolizumab in the first-line setting in this population on October 24, 2016, and on December 15, 2016, the EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use also approved pembrolizumab as monotherapy in the first-line setting of metastatic NSCLC in adults whose tumors express PD-L1 with a tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥ 50% and who have no EGFR- or ALK-positive tumor mutations. The efficacy of pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment in NSCLC patients with PD-L1 expression < 50% remains unknown. The ongoing phase III KEYNOTE-042 study (NCT02220894) will assess the survival benefit of pembrolizumab over standard first-line platinum-based chemotherapy in treatment-naïve patients who have tumors with ≥ 1% PD-L1 positivity. Stratification according to PD-L1 expression (strong (≥ 50%) vs. weak (1–49%)) will be performed in the study. Among the 30% of patients whose tumors express PD-L1 with a TPS ≥ 50%, other clinical exclusion criteria limit the extended use of pembrolizumab in the first-line setting; for example, exclusion of patients considered unfit or with poor performance status (representing almost 34% of NSCLC patients in contemporary cohorts [28]), patients with EGFR-mutant and ALK-rearranged tumors (approximately 17% of adenocarcinoma lung cancers in Caucasian populations [29]), and the absence of steroids or autoimmune disorders (13.5% of lung cancer patients [30]). As such, the pool of patients eligible for upfront pembrolizumab is certainly not 30% of all chemo-naïve patients with NSCLC (which represents the percentage of frontline patients whose tumors express PD-L1 with a TPS ≥ 50%), but probably closer to 10%; this pool clearly needs to be enlarged. Moreover, the turnaround time from patient selection to treatment, based on PD-L1 expression, is not reported in KEYNOTE-024 but is expected to be considerablylonger than 1 month. There is a high probability that patients with relatively indolent disease were favored for inclusion in the study, adding another bias compared to routine practice. Patients with a poorer prognosis need to be explored such as in the ongoing phase II trial NCT02879617 evaluating first-line durvalumab in performance status 2 patients with advanced NSCLC. Nivolumab The phase III CheckMate 026 trial tested the efficacy of nivolumab compared to standard first-line chemotherapy (platinum/pemetrexed, platinum/gemcitabine, or carboplatin/paclitaxel) in 423 patients with PD-L1-positive (≥ 5% of expression by 28-8 clone) advanced NSCLC [31]. Patients harboring EGFR mutations or ALK translocations were ineligible. Patients with adequately treated brain metastases were allowed. No imbalances were reported in either arm regarding brain metastases (~12%), histology (~24% of squamous), ECOG performance status (~30% PS0), or current smokers (~20% in both arms). A higher proportion of females was included in the chemotherapy arm (45.2% vs. 32.1%). Maintenance treatment was prescribed in 38% of patients [31]. No benefit was seen with nivolumab compared to chemotherapy in terms of the primary endpoints PFS (4.2 vs. 5.9 months; HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.91–1.45; P = 0.251), OS (14.4 vs. 13.2 months; HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.80–1.30), or RR (26.1% vs. 33.5%). However, the toxicity profile favored nivolumab, with 17.6% of patients having grade 3–4 AEs compared to 50.6% in the chemotherapy arm (Table 1). Of note, patients with NSCLC with strong PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥ 50%) did not derive a greater benefit from nivolumab than those with weaker expression. Nivolumab was the post-discontinuation treatment in 60% of patients in the chemotherapy arm. The lack of survival benefit could be related to various hypothetical factors. First, there was a higher proportion of tumors with strong PD-L1 expression (TPS ≥ 50%) in the control arm compared to the nivolumab arm (74.1% vs. 53.2%). Second, only 44% of patients in the nivolumab arm received second-line treatment, mostly platinum-based chemotherapy, suggesting that a certain subgroup of patients was untreated [31]. This could be a consequence of hyper-progressive diseases on immunotherapy, as recently reported by Champiat et al. [32]. Overall, results from CheckMate 026 in the whole population and for those with strongly positive PD-L1-expressing tumors are inconsistent with first-line nivolumab performance in phase I/II trials [33]. Although the reason for the contrasting results between the KEYNOTE-024 [15] and Checkmate 026 [31] trials remains unclear, we should consider the nivolumab trial as negative, and we believe that differences in patient selection are the primary cause of this discrepancy. Differences in biomarker tests and in PD-L1 expression cut-off point (22C3 and 50% with pembrolizumab vs. 28-8 clone and 5% with nivolumab) could have contributed to the discordant results between the trials. Thus, patients with strong PD-L1 positivity in the KEYNOTE-024 trial may not be similar to patients with strong PD-L1 positivity in the CheckMate 026 trial since the sensitivity of the relevant clones used to define PD-L1 status is potentially different. Additionally, PD-L1 testing was performed after metastatic diagnosis in the pembrolizumab trial, whereas in the nivolumab trial, it was performed in archival tissue biopsy specimens taken within 6 months prior to randomization. However, in the KEYNOTE-010 trial, survival benefit with pembrolizumab as a second-line treatment was independent of whether the PD-L1 test was performed in an archival or in a new tissue biopsy specimen [11]. Further, the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors is higher among smokers [16]; a higher percentage of never-smoker patients was included in the nivolumab trial than in the pembrolizumab trial (11% vs. 3%) and such patients have lower mutational loads that negatively correlate with the success of immune checkpoint-targeting therapies [34]. Another major difference between the trials was the percentage of patients who received radiotherapy prior to enrollment; this percentage was abnormally high (37.6%) for patients enrolled in the CheckMate 026 trial [31], whereas in the KEYNOTE-024 trial [15], prior radiation therapy of > 30 Gy within 6 months of the first dose of trial treatment constituted an exclusion criterion. Therefore, sites that were involved in both trials may have operationally favored enrollment of all previously irradiated patients into CheckMate 026. It is clear that previous radiotherapy can have major consequences on the tumor microenvironment [35] and potentially lead to decreased activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors in previously irradiated areas. At this stage, it is unknown which areas (mediastinum, others) were previously irradiated in patients enrolled in the CheckMate 026 trial [31]. Other first-line randomized phase III clinical trials are testing anti-PD-1 monotherapy, such as nivolumab in CheckMate 227 (NCT02477826), or anti-PD-L1 monotherapies such as atezolizumab in IMpower 110 (NCT02409342) and avelumab in the ongoing JAVELIN Lung 100 trial (NCT02576574). These trials may validate immune checkpoint inhibitors as a first-line treatment in patients with PD-L1-positive NSCLC. Combination of anti-PD-1 antibodies with chemotherapy A large body of preclinical data has shown that chemotherapy and radiation modulate the immune response against tumors [36] and that chemotherapy can induce PD-L1 expression in tumor cells [37, 38]. This has led to clinical investigation of combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapy. The phase II KEYNOTE-021 trial (n = 123) compared pembrolizumab 200 mg for 2 years concomitant with four cycles of carboplatin-pemetrexed chemotherapy followed by pemetrexed as maintenance therapy with chemotherapy alone [39]. A higher proportion of never-smoker patients (25% vs. 14%) and patients with adenocarcinoma histology (97% vs. 87%) were included in the pembrolizumab arm. A total of 32% of patients in the chemotherapy group crossed over to receive pembrolizumab monotherapy as allowed by the study protocol. The combination arm had improved RR (55% vs. 29%; P = 0.0016, with 80% RR among strongly PD-L1-positive tumors) and PFS (13.0 vs. 8.9 months; HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.31–0.91; P = 0.010) compared to chemotherapy alone; however, the frequency of grade 3–4 treatment-related AEs was higher in the concomitant arm (39% vs. 26%) (Table 1). Of note, the chemotherapy arm also demonstrated impressive PFS, suggesting a high level of patient selection. Indeed, median PFS was much longer than in similar populations included in other trials with the same chemotherapy schedule, for example, the PointBreak trial (5.6 months) [40]. The KEYNOTE-021 study reported a shorter time to response in the combination arm compared to the chemotherapy alone arm (1.5 vs. 2.7 months), suggesting this approach could be a good strategy for symptomatic patients [39]. These results are similar to those previously reported in phase I trials, suggesting that combination treatment could be an optimal strategy. Overall, while very promising, these results need to be validated in a phase III trial. The preliminary RR of 80% in patients with tumors harboring PD-L1 expression ≥ 50% treated with the combination therapy appears intriguing, but numbers are too small to draw any definitive conclusions. The ongoing phase III trials KEYNOTE-189 (NCT02578680) and KEYNOTE-407 (NCT02775435) with pembrolizumab and the IMpower 132 (NCT02657434), IMpower 130 (NCT02367781), IMpower 131 (NCT02367794), and IMpower 150 (NCT02366143) trials with atezolizumab are testing combination treatment versus standard of care and could help clarify the best treatment strategy for this population. Other open questions in the first-line setting The third approach to position immunotherapy in the first-line setting is the combination of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade with anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) compounds (Fig. 1). Early preclinical studies have suggested that combined CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathway blockade produces synergistic anti-tumor activity [5, 41], providing the rationale for clinical studies. The high efficacy of nivolumab plus ipilimumab has been recently reported in PD-L1-positive tumors (Table 1) [42]. The phase III CheckMate 227 (NCT02477826) trial with nivolumab plus ipilimumab, and the MYSTIC (NCT02453282) and NEPTUNE (NCT02542293) trials with durvalumab plus tremelimumab are comparing this strategy to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy or chemotherapy. The toxicity profiles of these combinations might, however, limit their applicability. Fig. 1 Upcoming randomized immunotherapy trials in first-line NSCLC and projected readout timelines Full size image The optimal strategy for NSCLC patients with tumor PD-L1 expression < 50% has to be better defined – potential candidate therapies include concomitant treatments with chemotherapy, a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors, or sequential strategies. This issue is important because of the limited standard second-line options currently available [43, 44] in cases in which immune checkpoint inhibitors are prescribed as the first-line treatment. Treatment duration with immune checkpoint inhibitors and economic costs are also important issues. Therefore, detailed health economic analyses are required to avoid inequities in access to these treatments [45]. New tools should be applied, such as the ESMO Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (ESMO-MCBS), which uses a rational, structured, and consistent approach to derive a relative ranking of the magnitude of clinically meaningful benefit that can be expected from new anti-cancer therapies [46, 47].

Google’s Pixelbook might be the very best Chromebook you can buy. The $1,000 machine is a shining example of what a good combination of hardware and software can do when in perfect sync. But it isn’t the best Chromebook you should buy. Chromebooks aren’t supposed to cost a grand. They’re supposed to be cheap. So we’ve spent the last few weeks trying to find the best Chromebook to buy that doesn’t actually wreck a wallet. First, we had to whittle down the field a bit. There are a lot of Chromebooks out there. They come in a wide range of display sizes, have a wide variety of processors available, and range in price from $150 to over $1,000. Going too cheap on a Chromebook kind of defeats the purpose, though. A Chromebook should look and feel like a “real” laptop but cost a fraction of the price. If the display is junky, the finish is really crummy, or its just not powerful enough, a too-cheap Chromebook is going to feel like a waste of money. But there’s a sweet spot in the Chromebook market in $500 to $600 price range. These machines have improved finishes, nicer displays, and in general, they just don’t feel so budget. So we reached out to every major Chromebook maker and asked them to send us their best machine in that $500 to $600 range. This led us to test the following competitors: These were the devices each Chromebook maker felt was the very best they produced at that price point, and there were a lot of inconsistencies across the field. The Lenovo has a huge 15.6-inch display, while the Dell has a tiny 11.6-inch display. (The others have displays that range in size from 12.2 inches to 14 inches.) Processors featured were as slow as a Celeron or Pentium, or as fast as an i3. Ultimately it was the Asus Chromebook Flip C434, priced at $570, that seemed to stand above the rest. But how did it come out on top? With such a disparate group of devices, we naturally had to pit them against one another in three battles. We wanted to know which had the best user experience, which was fastest, and which had the best battery life. User experience A good user experience is absolutely vital when it comes to more affordable Chromebooks. Cheaper devices cut more corners, have more design flaws, and tend to be uglier and heavier than premium devices. The HP Chromebook X2 is a nice-looking Chromebook from afar. But up close you realize it’s actually a thick tablet with a keyboard case. It’s heavy, and poorly balanced, with the keyboard flopping as you type. The Lenovo Yoga Chromebook faces a different set of issues. Its 15.6-inch display is huge, so using it as a tablet makes you feel extremely silly. It’s also the largest and heaviest Chromebook tested, and nowadays, we prefer something a little smaller and lighter to squeeze into a backpack. The Dell has big bezels, a tiny screen, and just feels clunky. Photo : CJ Dominguez ( Gizmodo ) The Acer Chromebook 315 looks and feels like a more proper laptop, but the finishes feel cheap. It’s the only Chromebook of the group that can’t double as a tablet. The Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 (our previous favorite Chromebook) and the Dell Chromebook 3100 both nimbly switch between laptop and tablet. Yet the Dell has the smallest display of all the Chromebooks tested, the biggest bezels, and a chunky design that makes it feel bulkier than most general Chromebook users would want. The Samsung has a much nicer 12.2-inch display and far better finishes, but it still lags behind our top choice. The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 feels like a much more expensive device with its all-aluminum body and super big display with super-narrow bezels. Its 14-inch display is packed into a laptop with the footprint of a 13-inch device. The keyboard is a little mushy, but the touchpad is responsive. I never felt ridiculous using the Asus in tablet mode, which was a welcome respite from nearly every other Chromebook tested. The Flip C434 was the only Chromebook that didn’t feel like a major compromise, which makes it our winner. Winner: Asus Chromebook Flip C434 Speed Speed on a Chromebook is important—not as important as on a Windows, Linux, or macOS device—but crucial if you don’t want to feel like you’re crawling across the web. Unfortunately, it’s pretty difficult to actually test the speed of Chromebooks. Most of their most processor-intensive tasks are happening in the cloud, and the stuff they do day to day on the local hardware just isn’t as demanding. We settled for running a small group of benchmarks to give us a general idea of performance. We chiefly relied on WebXPRT 2015, a browser-based benchmark designed to test how speedily a computer handles web-based tasks like spreadsheet sorting, image editing, and word processing. We also used Geekbench 4, a synthetic benchmark that runs a series of tests designed to task the CPU and GPU and provide a score. Geekbench 4 is a synthetic benchmark designed to test the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage speed. The Single Core test focuses on the performance of a single core in a CPU. A higher score is better. Graphic : Alex Cranz ( Gizmodo ) Geekbench 4 is a synthetic benchmark designed to test the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage speed. The Multi-Core test focuses on the performance of all the cores in a CPU. A higher score is better. Graphic : Alex Cranz ( Gizmodo ) WebXPRT 2015 is a web-based benchmark that tests the speed of a computer’s browser when performing a series of tasks like image resizing, text editing, and spreadsheet management. A higher score is better. Graphic : Alex Cranz ( Gizmodo ) Geekbench 4 is a synthetic benchmark designed to test the CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage speed. The Compute test focuses on the performance of the GPU. A higher score is better. The Samsung was not available for testing. Graphic : Alex Cranz ( Gizmodo ) 1 / 4 There wasn’t a lot of surprises here. The Lenovo has the most powerful CPU, an 8th Gen i3 processor, and handily performed best on the benchmarks. The Asus and HP had the second most powerful CPUs and, naturally, did second best. The Samsung, Acer, and Dell all lagged behind with their wimpiest processors. Winner: Lenovo Yoga Chromebook Battery life Speed is important to consider, but in a Chromebook, battery life is even more crucial. You won’t always notice a slow processor in a Chromebook, but you will notice one that dies halfway through your binge of the final season of Orange Is the New Black. We tested each Chromebook’s battery the way we test all laptops, phones, and tablets at Gizmodo. First, we adjust the brightness of the display to 200 nits. These devices all have different-sized displays with different max brightnesses, and we want them on as equal a playing field as possible, as the more light the display puts out the faster its battery drains. Next, we turned off notifications, Bluetooth, backlit keyboards, and any other funky little settings that could unnecessarily drain the battery life. Finally, we reenacted my Sunday morning and streamed YouTube in full-screen mode until each device died. The battery life, as tested, in minutes. Graphic : Alex Cranz ( Gizmodo ) As with the speed battle, the results weren’t super surprising. The Dell has the smallest display, and Dell is notorious for making laptops with excellent battery life. So, of course, it would have the best battery life—lasting 13 hours and 13 minutes. The Acer Chromebook 315, which is perhaps the most barebones of the Chromebooks came in second with 9 hours and 10 minutes, and the Asus Chromebook Flip C434 took third with 8 hours and 24 minutes. The others all lastest less than 8 hours. Winner: Dell Chromebook 3100 Winner winner So it seems like a three-way tie right? The Lenovo was fastest, the Dell had the best battery life, and the Asus had the best user experience. Naturally, we needed some way to break the tie, because our goal was to find the absolute best value in a Chromebook. So we looked at where all the competitors placed in the respective battles, and on average, the Asus consistently placed higher than the Lenovo or the Dell. It had the third-best battery life, and took either second or third place in the speed battle, depending on the benchmark. Plus, again, it’s the best to use! The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 won the first battle by a wide margin, and considering how well it performed in general, it’s a no brainer that we’d point you towards the Asus Chromebook Flip C434 as the best Chromebook to buy. At $570 it’s not outrageously expensive, and it neatly balances performance and battery life in a Chromebook body that looks and feels a lot more expensive than it is. Winner: Asus Chromebook Flip C434

Despite the stereotype impression people have about Africa, as a place of wars, famine and underdevelopment, it will surprise some that Africa has some of the most livable cities in the world. In Africa like in any other place in the world there are metropolitan cities with mixed cultures, good road network, electricity and other social amenities as well opportunities for economic growth a comfort which greatly attract people. At the African Exponent we bring to you 10 cities in Africa which are livable irrespective of the part of the world a stranger is coming from. 1. Cape Town, South Africa The mother city is usually ranked among the most beautiful cities in the world | Image Credit: Naij Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and boasts all the luxuries and amenities of the best urban areas around the world. Located between the ocean and the mountains, it is also where you will find the advertising execs and creative minds, with many retailers and fashion designers headquartered. Housing options vary, from Tuscan-styled homes (a trend seen across the country), funky “SoHo”-style downtown lofts, and gated urban estates. The city is awash in hiking and water sports, plus it’s near hundreds of vineyards that produce some of the world’s best wines. Cape Town is the center for the insurance and digital sectors in Africa and recently, the city’s public transportation underwent some impressive improvements, making it the kind of city where it is best to have your own car to get around. 2. Accra, Ghana Accra is home of lively night life and world class shopping | Image Credit: Buzzghana Accra is a weekend-getaway destinations for privileged travelers and understandably so, for its lively culinary scene, nightlife, and world class shopping. There are several affluent areas including East Legon, home of the famous Accra Mall—and Osu, often called “Oxford Street” for its high-end shops. The warmth of the Ghanaian people is an asset and is an important part of what attracts strangers to want to spend time in Accra. The tropical climate makes it all the more appealing and welcoming. Many Ghanaians returning home from the West are bringing with them enthusiasm, fresh ideas and businesses lighting up the city and upgrading its urbanism. Coupled with the government’s commitment to Investing proceeds into social and physical infrastructure, one can only imagine that Accra will become even more livable in the years to come. 3. Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is home of the promising Silicon Savanna tech industry | Image Credit: Muthaigatravel Nairobi is fast becoming the African city of choice for multinational companies seeking a foothold for their African operations. Nairobi is a gracious city that possesses much of the sophistication of any urban city; Nairobi has a promising technology industry and reputably some of the best Internet connectivity in Africa. As for the housing options, there are spacious suburban-style homes at prices quite affordable compared to other African cities, as well as luxury apartment complexes with swimming pools and fitness centers. Although getting around may be complex, other options that offer quite an experience include the mini-bus matatu to boda-boda motorcycle taxi—both mainly used by locals. Recently, several multinational companies have opened up branches in Nairobi, including Rockefeller Foundation, General Electric and China’s CCTV news broadcaster. 4. Johannesburg, South Africa Joburg is a multicultural city, perhaps the most diverse city in Africa | Image Credit: Niaj From the moment you step off the plane at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), it becomes clear why Johannesburg is considered a world-class city. The airport rivals some of the best airports in developed worlds. Johannesburg is one of the wealthiest modern cities in Africa; full with a lot of investment and career opportunities. Recently, the government invested in building up the inner city, and today you will find cleaner streets and renovated buildings. The city is also home to world-class malls like Sandton City and Eastgate. When craving some fresh air, Johannesburg claims the title to having the largest man-made forest in the world. Joburg as often referred to offers a wealth of stores and restaurants, and has been dubbed the Africa Africa’s economic capital. It is host to the plush headquarters of AngloGold Ashanti and many African companies. It is also a multi-cultural city as it hosts many who migrated to work there since the 1800s. 5. Gaborone, Botswana Gaborone is home of some largest diamonds in the World | Image Credit: O-travel The capital of Botswana enjoys political stability and economic strength adding to the fact that it is one of the largest rough diamond producers in the world. Botswana’s capital is considered to one of the most peaceful cities in Africa. Despite its size, with a population of just over 230,000, Gaborone offers a diverse mix of people, and places to see. The popularity of Gaborone as one of the livable cities in Africa can also be tied to its rapid growing tourism industry which attracts huge number of tourists yearly. Gabs, as it is popularly known, today is synonymous to precious stone which continues to play a major role in the city’s development. Recently, leading diamond producer de Beers announced it would be moving some of its operations to Gaborone. With regards to the development of modern sports facilities, Gaborone played host to a successful Africa Junior Athletics Championships in 2011 which further opened the doors of the city to the world. 6. Tunis, Tunisia Tunis is among the most affordable cities in Africa | Image Credit: Airlines-airports A lot has changed here since the Arab Spring unrest which started nearly two years ago. Tunisia may be one of the smallest countries in North Africa, but it is currently seeing a lot of development. Tunis is a city with strong French ties, but it is very culturally diverse. In fact it is one of the first Arabo-Muslim towns and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Life expectancy is remarkably high here, with the average person living to 74.6 years old. This could be because Tunis was ranked the second-happiest place in Africa. Once on the wealthiest cities in the Muslim world, Tunisia’s capital is now also considered to be the least expensive city (for expats) in the region. Getting around is fairly easy with the extensive rail network that links the capital to other parts of the country. Worth 7. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Dar es Salaam is the third fastest growing African city | Image Credit: Naij Dar es Salaam sees an annual population increase of 3 percent, making it the third fastest-growing African city. The city is Tanzania’s political and economic hub and in recent years has seen great investment in education. Millions have been spent over the past five years to improve the cities roads, making traveling a lot more efficient. Situated close to the equator, the city enjoys tropical conditions for most of the year which greatly attracts tourist. There has been great Investment in education here, with an extensive program to provide free primary schooling, efforts that were lauded by international bodies when enrollment rates reached over 90 percent. The city is also home to the largest and oldest public university in Tanzania, the University of Dar es Salaam, which recently celebrated its 50-year anniversary and has seen a sharp increase in the number of registered students 8. Durban Durban offers a lot more than beautiful, golden beaches | Image credit: Flysaa The City of Durban is a natural paradise known for its coastline of gorgeous beaches and subtropical climate, situated on the eastern seaboard of South Africa. People live in and flock to Durban for its diverse culture, urban lifestyle and scenic diversity. It is a trendsetter in offering great lifestyle, speckled with adventure activities, blessed with glorious beauty and is an astonishingly livable city. In Durban you will find the world’s oldest and largest ultra-marathon, the Comrades Marathon, the world’s tallest bungee swing at the Moses Mabhida stadium and the largest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere, Gateway Theatre of Shopping. Whether you are a business delegate or a leisure traveler, Durban will always provide you with a warm African flavor that will capture your heart forever. 9. Windhoek, Namibia Windhoek is perhaps best known for its beer, Windhoek Lager | Image Credit: CCTV-Africa From the language to the architecture, German culture has greatly influenced Windhoek; it has adequate healthcare services and good educational institutions. Windhoek has a small-town feel, but is also home to nearly every national government institution, making it Namibia’s political, cultural, social and economic capital. If Namibia is best known for the Namib Desert, the oldest in the world, then Windhoek is best known for its beer. Windhoek Lager is one of the fastest-growing premium beers in the region and is sold abroad in over 20 countries. The central business district hosts many cool restaurant, bars. When visiting Windhoek, expect to meet a diverse range of people with a multitude of background, from the indigenous San, Hereo, and Kavango groups to expat Europeans. Windhoek is attractive because it is clean, safe and getting around the city is easy with its well-maintained roads. Both taxis and buses are available to provide efficient transport services. 10. Kigali, Rwanda Kigali forms the heart of Rwanda, the fastest growing economy in Africa | Image Credit: Focus Located in the heart of Rwanda, Kigali is home to nearly 1 million people, many of whom are expats. The new Kigali Tower, a 20-floor office and retail complex, has had a lot of buzz. From the expansion of its Central Business District to the recent road construction project to help ease traffic congestion, Kigali is slowly becoming one of the most rapidly developing and livable cities on the continent. Tourism remains an important source of revenue as the country’s largest foreign exchange earner: The increase is likely to see further Investment in the hotel, service, and tourism industries. The weather is moderate most of the time and there are varieties of exciting activities and good social amenities for the residents. The people are friendly and always welcoming. Worthy of note of other livable cities in Africa are Kumasi in Ghana whose people have been cited as one of the most friendly on the continent, Algiers capital of Algeria is noted for its French-Arab blend cultures, beaches, huge expat community and buoyant economy, Limbe a seaside town of Cameroon cannot be left out on this, popularly called the town of friendship the seaside town is home to a host of diverse communities from almost every west African country. Header Image Credit: Muthaigatravel

One of the questions we must answer to have greater success in business and life is this: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future part of our current philosophy. Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. So what do we need to do daily to be on the path to success? We must develop the discipline to look down the road every day. Why are new disciplines so important? They cause us to amend our thinking to keep us on track to creating the successful future we desire. Also, disciplines tend to multiply. We start with one new successful discipline and we build momentum and self-confidence to develop others. Success is about paying attention to what we are doing each day to move us to the future we desire. Failure, on the other hand, is largely a function of neglect. And, not doing the things we know we should leads to guilt and an erosion of self-confidence. When our self-confidence diminishes, so does our activity. We must stay focused on our vision of a successful future. The journey toward the good life begins with a serious commitment to changing any aspect of our current philosophy that has the capacity to come between us and our dreams. Keep developing new disciplines. Each new positive activity weakens the grip of failure and steers us even closer to our destination of choice, our success.

Following the footsteps of Microsoft Edge and Chrome, Firefox is -- at long last -- going to offer support for the delivery of notifications through Windows 10's Action Center. The move will please many Firefox users as this is a highly-requested feature, and it brings Mozilla's web browser in line with its rivals. While there is no release date for the finished version of Firefox 64, Action Center notification support has already made its way into the nightly builds. See also: But although the feature has been heavily requested, it's not something that has been met with universal delight. Over on Reddit, Firefox users are already asking whether Action Center notifications can be disabled in favour of using Firefox's own system of notifications. (At the moment, there is no way to do this with the nightlies.) As indicated by a comment on a Bugzilla post, Firefox 64 will address "bug" 1155505: "Implement ToastNotification for Action Center (Notification Center) on Windows 10": Status: NEW → RESOLVED Last Resolved: 3 days ago status-firefox64: --- → fixed Resolution: --- → FIXED Target Milestone: --- → mozilla64 So... Action Center notifications for Firefox 64. In favor, or against?

• Davis & Elkins Official Announcement • UNC Pembroke Official Announcement BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Mountain East Conference announced today that Davis & Elkins College has accepted an offer of full membership from the conference following a unanimous vote of approval by the MEC Board of Directors on August 27. The league also announced that The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has accepted an invitation of associate membership in the MEC in the sports of football, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, women’s swimming and wrestling after receiving unanimous support from the MEC’s Board. Davis & Elkins will compete in the Mountain East beginning in 2019-20. The Senators currently sponsor 19 of the conference’s 20 championship sports. When combined with UNC Pembroke’s future sports associations with the MEC, the league will be positioned to expand its conference championship sports to 23 -- seven more than when the league began in 2013 -- as early as the 2019-20 season. The MEC is slated to add championships in wrestling and men’s and women’s indoor track. “On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Mountain East Conference, we are pleased to welcome Davis & Elkins as a full-time member into the league, and are equally excited to begin an associate member relationship with UNC Pembroke,” said Dr. Kendra Boggess, Concord University President and President of the MEC Board of Directors. “Davis & Elkins aligns well with the league from a geographical and philosophical standpoint, and we believe UNC Pembroke’s associate membership provides the MEC strength and depth in the five sports they will bring to the conference.” “Adding Davis & Elkins as a full-time member and UNC Pembroke as an associate member is a great step for our league,” said MEC Commissioner Reid Amos. “The leadership at D&E has demonstrated a true commitment to the student-athlete experience which aligns well with the MEC and our other member institutions. Additionally, UNC Pembroke is a great match for us as an associate member. This partnership will provide UNC Pembroke’s student-athletes with a conference home for sports where they do not currently have a conference alignment. In these sports, not only does it provide UNC Pembroke’s student-athletes with a championship experience, it allows the MEC to grow our number of championship sports to provide new opportunities for student-athletes across the Mountain East Conference. “When combined with the recent acceptance of an invitation by Frostburg State, this series of partnerships not only signifies growth for the MEC, but also helps to foster sustainability for our conference’s championship profile while creating increased recruiting opportunities for our MEC member institutions. We have every expectation that the MEC will continue to be a highly competitive conference that is well positioned for continued success in NCAA Division II.” Related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Davis & Elkins College is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the mountain highlands of Elkins, W.Va., and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of College and Schools. With a mission to “prepare and inspire students for success and for thoughtful engagement in the world,” Davis & Elkins is leading the way to help students discover their passion in life. D&E recently announced the successful completion of its “Secure the Future” campaign which raised over $100 million. “We are very pleased to have received an invitation to join the Mountain East Conference,” said Davis & Elkins College President Chris A. Wood. “This is welcome news for not only the College and our 320 student-athletes, but parents and Senator fans as well. Athletic contests taking place closer to home allows all to share in the accomplishments of our student-athletes. We look forward to a partnership with the high caliber professionalism the MEC displays.” The Davis & Elkins College athletics department, more commonly known as Senator Nation, is committed to developing excellence in student-athletes, coaches and staff through education, engagement, character and competition. D&E currently sponsors 21 intercollegiate sports, competing in 23 championship seasons, and currently has 320 student-athletes from 30 states and 21 countries. "Today is a day we will remember for years to come," said Davis & Elkins Director of Athletics Jamie Joss. "Joining the Mountain East, one of the nation’s premier NCAA Division II collegiate athletic conferences, provides a tremendous opportunity to align with conference members focused on enhancing the academic and athletic experiences of our student-athletes." Located in the southeast North Carolina town of Pembroke, UNCP is a public, co-educational and historically American Indian liberal arts University that has more than 6,500 students, including more than 800 graduate students. “This is an exciting announcement, both for our athletics department and our University,” said UNCP Chancellor Dr. Robin G. Cummings. “This historic partnership allows all of our teams to have a conference home for the first time in UNCP's 26 years in NCAA Division II. The Mountain East Conference leadership has been visionary, professional and proactive, and we are excited to align with them in such a robust partnership ensuring a championship experience for all of our nearly 400 student-athletes.” UNC Pembroke, one of just two NCAA Division II football teams to make three or more appearances in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in the first 10 years of its program’s existence, will play football in the MEC in 2020. The Braves will compete as early as the 2019-20 season in swimming & diving, as well indoor track & field and wrestling, while football will begin MEC competition in fall 2020. The associate membership with the MEC would give UNCP a conference home for all 16 of its sports for the first time in its 26-year NCAA Division II history as it competes as a full-time member of the Peach Belt Conference. "I think the frequency with which we have faced the MEC and the proximity of some of their institutions will surprise a number of our fans,” said UNCP Director of Athletics Dick Christy. "Our dedication to a championship experience for all student-athletes is at the forefront of our mission, and the necessity of a conference home for these five sports is paramount to the success of that mission.” Established in 2013, the Mountain East Conference has quickly established itself as one of the top all-sports conferences in the country. In just five years, MEC institutions have produced two team NCAA Division II champions, seven national finalists and 13 semifinalists. In addition to the athletic success, the MEC recognizes over 1,500 student-athletes annually for their academic success and has additionally had seven “NCAA Elite 90” winners, which honors the individual with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) on Monday said that his team was also denied a tour of a migrant processing facility one day after Sen. Jeff Merkley Jeffrey (Jeff) Alan MerkleyThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump, Biden renew push for Latino support Sunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Oregon senator says Trump's blame on 'forest management' for wildfires is 'just a big and devastating lie' MORE (D-Ore.) said he was barred entry from a detention center in Texas. “This is outrageous. Sec. Nielsen owes us answers,” Menendez tweeted — referring to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele NielsenMore than million in DHS contracts awarded to firm of acting secretary's wife: report DHS IG won't investigate after watchdog said Wolf, Cuccinelli appointments violated law Appeals court sides with Trump over drawdown of immigrant protections MORE — while adding a link to Merkley’s tweet about being denied entrance to a detention center. ADVERTISEMENT “My team was also barred from touring a migrant processing facility where families are being separated,” the senator added. “When the elected representatives of the people can't observe how our government is operating, we're in an upside down world.” The incident comes amid growing criticism of the Trump administration’s policy that separates children and parents when they cross the border, including those seeking asylum. The policy has been called an attempt to deter migrant parents from coming to the U.S. Merkley on Sunday was turned away from an immigration detention center in Texas which he said was housing immigrant children. In a live stream of the event, he is seen introducing himself to guards outside the detention building and asking for permission to enter. “I was barred entry. Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor—he finally came out and said he can’t tell us anything. Police were called on us,” Merkley said in a tweet. I was barred entry. Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor—he finally came out and said he can’t tell us anything. Police were called on us. Children should never be ripped from their families & held in secretive detention centers. RT if you agree this is WRONG. pic.twitter.com/GVCuXNjR8d — Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) June 4, 2018 The two events come shortly after it was reported that federal authorities lost track of nearly 1,500 immigrant children that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) placed with sponsors. HHS pushed back on those reports, saying the allegations that the children were lost are “completely false.”

View Transcript Transcript Marketing Man says, "How do we market a product that is known to trigger dispondency and self-mutilation?" Woman says, "So?It has a military application?" Soldier says, "I thought it was just software, but before I knew it I was stabbing myself." General says, "Get me a trillion of there."

Episode notes It’s spoopy season! Since it’s the most wonderful time of the year, we’re talking about all of the scary stories, myths, and games we heard of and played as teens. Also, Sydnee learns about the Dark Web and we create some of the newest and best conspiracy theories to fuel your nightmares, enjoy! Subscribe on iTunes or RSS! Music: “Baby You Change Your Mind” by Nouvellas

Pour the batter into the greased mould and bake for about 15 minutes or till the donuts are cooked through.

STRYPER's Michael Sweet says that he is "a guitarist first" and "a vocalist second." Sweet made the distinction in a Facebook post in which he addressed the fact that people still come up to him at every show and tell him that they didn't know he played the instrument. Michael wrote: "I'm a guitarist first, a vocalist second. I started playing guitar when I was 5 (badly of course) and I've always considered myself a guitarist who sings, not a singer who plays. "I'm not a 'shredder.' I don't try to impress with my solos. I simply try to write for the song and from the heart. I want every note to speak and touch the listener. "To this very day, I still have people at every show come up to me and say 'I didn't know you played.' I'm never really sure how to respond to that comment but I usually smile and say 'Yeah, I play a little.' "To all the folks out there who do know that I play (and who appreciate what I play), thank you! My guitar is a part of me. When I set it down live for a song I feel as though I've been stripped down and am completely naked. It's such a part of me that without it I feel uncomfortable and somewhat out of place. "As much as I love singing, I love playing even more. If that day ever comes when my voice is gone and I can't sing anymore I can always just play. "Maybe someday I'll do an instrumental album just for fun." STRYPER recently completed the 2019 "History Tour - Greatest Hits & Covers That Influenced Our Generation". STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen" and the band's latest effort, "God Damn Evil". Sweet's tenth solo album, "Ten", was released on October 11 via Rat Pak Records in North America and Frontiers Music Srl in Europe.

ATLANTIC CITY -- On the same day Donald Trump officially secured the Republican nomination for president, his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton released another video calling his record into question, this time featuring a retired music store owner who says the one-time Atlantic City casino magnate partly stiffed him on a six-figure order decades ago. The three-minute "testimonial web video" produced by Hillary for America stars Mike Diehl, a father of five who owned Freehold Music Center in 1989. In the video, Diehl says he received an order for pianos worth $100,000 from the Trump Taj Mahal casino. Diehl waited more than a month after delivering the pianos before calling about the bill, stating he received a "runaround at first." Eventually, Diehl was told the casino did not have the money to pay the bill in full and was told he would have to accept 70 cents on the dollar or try his luck in bankruptcy court. "I feel as if someone stole $30,000 from me," Diehl, 88, says in the video. In public statements, Trump has boasted about his performance in the Atlantic City casino business, stating he pulled out of the resort city before it "cratered." "I made a lot of money in Atlantic City. And I'm very proud of it," Trump said during the first GOP debate in August. Diehl was among several people interviewed in an extensive USA Today article published earlier this month detailing Trump's record in Atlantic City, including the bankruptcy of the Taj Mahal, one of five times a Trump casino property filed for bankruptcy. Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

"Yeah let's go pick up guys at the club" Every guy is a skeezy creep. 1,174 shares

When Trump says something that is patently untrue or completely insane, these statements are not lies but a "rhetorical response" to whatever is on his mind. The White House is so adept at covering for president Trump's routine outbursts, lies and maniacal ranting that they have now coined a new term for it. When Trump says something that is patently untrue or completely insane, these statements are not lies but a "rhetorical response" to whatever is on his mind. Reported the Washington Post today: ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website At a briefing Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump was merely making a “rhetorical response to a criticism” by LaVar Ball when he tweeted of Ball’s son LiAngelo and two UCLA teammates that he “should have left them in jail” in China. Sanders repeatedly claimed that Trump was “happy to intervene” on the players’ behalf. “I think it was less about the players than the father of one of the Americans really seemed to have a problem with it,” Sanders said. “Frankly, it didn’t seem like the father wanted the president to intervene, which I think would have been a sad thing if he hadn’t, most likely.” So when Trump said that he "should have left them in jail", he actually meant that he shouldn't have left them in jail, but disagrees with the father about something or the other. How Huckabee Sanders managed this extraordinary display of mental gymnastics is beyond comprehension, but it is a testament to the White House's resolve that they continue to create new and innovative ways to cover up the president's bullshit. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website The "rhetorical response" defense is ingenious because it means Trump can now say literally whatever he wants with any fear of repercussion. "I'm going to blow up North Korea tomorrow!" really means "I'm not going to blow up North Korea, but I want to do a trade deal with Japan!". "Hillary Clinton should be thrown in jail!" means "Hillary Clinton shouldn't be thrown in jail, but I do like eating pancakes in the morning!" The potential for the "rhetorical response" is vast and we should expect to see it trotted out more often as Trump continues to lose his grip on objective reality and his team continue their vicious infighting. With National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster calling Trump an “idiot” and a “dope” with the intelligence of a “kindergartner,” you can be sure the "rhetorical response" defense won't be limited to just Trump either. If further evidence of McMaster's outburst is revealed, we should all look forward to hearing the White House's unique interpretation. Suggestions are welcome in the comments section below...

EA Games Vulnerability In the last few weeks, Check Point Research has combined forces with CyberInt to identify a chain of vulnerabilities that, once exploited, could have led to the takeover of millions of player accounts within the world’s second largest gaming company, EA Games. The potential damage could have involved an attacker gaining access to a user’s credit card information and the ability to fraudulently purchase in game currency on behalf of the user. CyberInt and Check Point immediately notified EA Games of these security gaps and together leveraged their expertise to support EA in fixing them to protect their gaming customers. Origin: The EA Games Platform With over 300 million users and revenues of around $5 billion, EA Games is the world’s second largest gaming company market capitalization and boasts household gaming titles such as FIFA, Maden NFL, NBA Live, UFC, The Sims, Battlefield, Command and Conquer and Medal of Honor in its portfolio. All these games and more rest on its self-developed Origin gaming platform that allows users to purchase and play EA’s games across PC and mobile. Origin also contains social features such as profile management, networking with friends with chat and direct game joining along with community integration with networking sites such as Facebook, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Network. Origin and the Vulnerabilities Found In a similar manner to Check Point Research’s previous discoveries into another hugely popular online game, Fortnite, the vulnerabilities found in EA’s platform similarly did not require the user to hand over any login details whatsoever. Instead, it took advantage of EA Games’ use of authentication tokens in conjunction with the oAuth Single Sign-On (SSO) and TRUST mechanism that is built into EA Game’s user login process. In this case, EA Games is a cloud-based company that uses Microsoft Azure to host several domain names such as ea.com and origin.com in order to provide global access to various services for their players, including creating new game accounts, connecting to the Origin social network and purchasing more games in EA’s online store. Technical Details Eaplayinvite.ea.com Subdomain Hijacking EA games operates several domain names such as ea.com and origin.com in order to provide global access to various services for their players, including creating new Apex Legend accounts, connecting to the Origin social network, as well as purchasing new EA games in the company’s online store. Generally, each service offered by a cloud-based company such as EA Games is registered on a unique subdomain address, for example, eaplayinvite.ea.com , and has a DNS pointer (A or CNAME record) to a specific cloud supplier host, ea-invite-reg.azurewebsites.net, which runs the desired service in the background, in this case a web application server. Fig 1: The DNS pointer for eaplayinvite.ea.com points to the CNAME record, ea-invite-reg.azurewebsites.net Azure is a cloud services provider solution powered by Microsoft and allows for a company to register new services (e.g. web applications, REST APIs, Virtual Machines, databases and more) in order to provide them to online customers around the world. Each Azure user account can request to register a specific service name (Service-Name.azurewebsites.net) which will be connected to a specific domain or subdomain of the organization after successfully validating it’s CNAME records during Azure subdomain validation process. During CyberInt’s research, though, they found that the ea-invite-reg.azurewebsites.net service was not in-use anymore within Azure cloud services, however the unique subdomain eaplayinvite.ea.com still redirect to it using the CNAME configuration. The CNAME redirection of eaplayinvite.ea.com allows us to create a new successful registration request at our own Azure account and register ea-invite-reg.azurewebsites.net as our new web application service. This allowed us to essentially hijack the subdomain of eaplayinvite.ea.com and monitor the requests made by EA valid users 🙂 Fig 2: Changing the CNAME redirection of ‘eaplayinvite.ea.com’ to our own ‘ea-invite-reg.azurewebsites.net’ hosted in our own Azure account. As seen from the below, the DNS Record status after the hijacking process now shows that the eaplayinvite.ea.com redirects to our new Azure cloud web service: Fig 3: The DNS Record status after the hijacking process. ‘eaplayinvite.ea.com ’ now redirects to our new Azure cloud web service oAuth Invalid Redirection to Account Take-Over Having control over the eaplayinvite.ea.com subdomain led our research team to a new goal of figuring out how we can abuse the TRUST mechanism. The TRUST mechanism exists between ea.com and origin.com domains and their subdomains. Successfully abusing the mechanism enabled our research team to manipulate the oAuth protocol implementation for full account take-over exploitation. We began by identifying how EA games had configured the oAuth protocol and provides its users a Single Sign-on (SSO) mechanism. The SSO mechanism exchanges the user credentials (user & password) by unique SSO Token and then uses the token to authenticate with any platform (for ex. accounts.origin.com) of EA networks without having to enter their credentials again. Analyzing the EA games oAuth SSO implementation within several EA services such as answers.ea.com, help.ea.com and accounts.ea.com helped us to review the EA authentication process and learn more about the TRUST mechanism that had been implemented. As part of a successful authentication process with EA global services via answers.ea.com, an oAauth HTTP request is sent to accounts.ea.com in order to get a new user SSO token, then the application should redirect it through signin.ea.com to the final EA service called answers.ea.com to identify the user. Fig 4: An oAuth SSO request for authenticating with answers.ea.com Fig 5: The oAuth authentication SSO token is redirected through signin.ea.com to EA answers.ea.com server We found, however, that it was actually possible to determine the EA service address which the oAuth token is generated for by modifying the returnURI parameter within the HTTP request to our hijacked sub-domain of EA, eaplayinvite.ea.com. Fig 6: oAuth requests to generate a new user token for eaplayinvite.ea.com Fig 7: The server generates valid token without validation of the fake EA service However, generating the above-mentioned request to redirect the generated SSO token into our hands was not sufficient since several limitations took place on EA’s side. The following items represent the limitations introduced by EA and how we successfully bypassed them in order to weaponize our attack: Limitation 1 – A Missing Valid Referer In order to compromise EA accounts, the research teams needed to send the previously mentioned request to accounts.ea.com including the modified parameters on behalf of the victim. However, the backend server of accounts.ea.com validates if the request originally came from a trusted Origin domain by checking the HTTP Referer header. To overcome this limitation we needed to start the request on behalf of our victim from an EA trusted domain or subdomain. So we coded a new Iframe onto the index page of our hijacked subdomain so the request would be initiated from the Iframe and bypass the server validation. Fig 8: eaplayinvite.ea.com malicious index page Fig 9: Attacker’s generates iframe on eaplayinvite.ea.com to bypass http Referer validation Limitation 2 – The Origin Problem After sending the request to signin.ea.com to complete our malicious authentication process and get the victim’s token to our hijacked subdomain at eaplayinvite.ea.com, a new jQuery function is generated and returned to the client for redirecting the token. However, the jQuery $.postMessage function will fail from executing this time since the destination server (eaplayinvite.ea.com) is not part of the current Origin (signin.ea.com). Therefore the function will send an error to the browser console and stop itself from sending the token to us. To overcome this issue, we had to look for a new token redirection method on signin.ea.com since the jQuery function stopped them from getting the victim’s token as part of the malicious flow. After several attempts, we captured one different request to signin.ea.com that contained the redirectback parameter. This parameter guided the server to use the returnuri value and redirect the page to it directly, without attaching to it the victim’s access token. Fig 10: Sending redirectback parameter to bypass jQuery origin issue Fig 11: The server responded with a simple redirection to the target server At this point we managed to redirect an authenticated EA player to our servers. We were able to do this after they visited the oAuth SSO authentication iframe and so were then able to log the incoming request within our servers. The token was sent to our servers within the HTTP Referer header since the player was redirected through severaloAuth SSO URLs using our malicious Iframes. The last redirection on signin.ea.com redirected the player to our server using window.location JavaScript function. It contained the SSO token of the player and allowed us to take control over it. Fig 12: Logging the incoming Referer value and searching for the victim’s Access-Token Fig 12: The victim oAuth SSO token logged on the attacker’s PC

Broken PG&E tower discovered near origin of Kincade fire on The Geysers geothermal power property A PG&E transmission line experienced problems moments before the 16,000‑acre Kincade fire started inside The Geysers, a sprawling complex of geothermal energy facilities nestled in the mountains between Sonoma and Lake counties, according to a utility filing with state regulators. Cal Fire later discovered a broken piece of equipment on a PG&E transmission tower that was not deactivated during a power shutdown initiated by the San Francisco-based utility before the fire broke out Wednesday night, the company reported in a filing with the state Public Utilities Commission. PG&E said it became aware of a problem on a 230-kilovolt transmission line running through The Geysers at about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. The fire was first reported at 9:26 p.m., when firefighters were sent to a vegetation fire in The Geysers on John Kincade Road at Burned Mountain Road near a small power plant, according to dispatch reports. A time-lapse video from a fire detection camera near Santa Rosa captured the ignition of the fire. In the ALERTWildfire video, a steady light in the hills near The Geysers abruptly blinks out at 9:20 p.m., followed instantly by a ball of flames that rises on the horizon and begins sending a plume of smoke billowing to the west. PG&E shut down power to some 27,000 customers in Sonoma County on Wednesday, part of its plan to prevent its equipment from sparking wildfires during hot, dry, windy conditions that can cause flames to spread rapidly. It began restoring power in Sonoma County on Thursday after the winds subsided, but anticipates dangerous fire conditions will return this weekend and could lead to another round of blackouts. PG&E said it cut the power to local distribution lines in Geyserville and the surrounding areas — but not the larger transmission lines that carry power across the state. “Those transmission lines were not de-energized because forecast weather conditions, particularly wind speeds, did not trigger the (public safety power shutoff) protocol,” PG&E said in a statement. “The wind speeds of concern for transmission lines are higher than those for distribution.” The tower in question was inspected earlier this year as part of the utility’s efforts to prevent wildfires, PG&E said in a statement Thursday evening. The broken equipment at the tower will become part of investigations by state fire officials and utility regulators to determine what role, if any, PG&E equipment played in the wildfire. “Cal Fire determines the sources of ignition of fire and the way that the fire spreads. The CPUC is conducting a staff investigation to assess the compliance of the electric facilities with applicable rules and regulations,” said Christopher Chow, a Public Utilities Commission spokesman. “Our hearts go out to those impacted by the fire, and we continue to work with our partner state agencies that are on the front lines.” Initial dispatch reports warned firefighters to be aware of “possible power lines down in the area.” By 9:53 p.m., firefighters knew they would not be able to contain the wind-whipped fire and needed to start evacuations, the radio traffic indicated. Calpine Corp., which operates the largest power facilities in The Geysers, does not believe its equipment caused the Kincade fire. As a result of windy conditions in the area, The Geysers de-energized its local power line system before the fire broke out, , Calpine spokesman Brett Kerr said. The decision was “consistent with our fire prevention protocols,” he said.

A Madagascan cobweb spider species, A. darwini, named after the father of evolutionary biology Charles Darwin. Credit: Ingi Agnarsson Ten subsocial cobweb spider species were discovered in a research on nearly 400 Madagascan colonies, conducted by Dr. Agnarsson's team. Most of them are single forest endemics and belong to one genus, Anelosimus. The number of newly found species in an otherwise ongoingly deforested area such as Madagascar triggers the need for additional samplings, the research team point out. In their report the scientists also stress on the fact that the extraordinary biodiversity there is still "mostly unexplored and undescribed" in terms of "many arthropod groups, such as spiders." The California Academy of Sciences is one of the few institutions to have thoroughly looked into Madagascan spider research. Curiously, five of the new species bare the names of the staple figures within the field of evolutionary biology: Wallace, Huxley, Buffon, Hooker and Lamarck. The Anelosimus darwini derives its name from the father of evolutionary biology Charles Darwin himself. Yet, another one out of the ten species, Anelosimus moramora, got its name from the Madagascan motto 'no rush' or 'take it easy.' Dr. Agnarsson led the research in the biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar on behalf of both the University of Vermont's Biology department and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The study can be found in the open-access journal ZooKeys. Madagascan cobweb spider species, Anelosimus moramora , named after the Madagascan motto 'no rush' or 'take it easy'. Credit: Ingi Agnarsson A female Madagascan cobweb spider, Anelosimus ata, and her web. Credit: Ingi Agnarsson Explore further Wasp identification made easy More information: Agnarsson I, Jencik BB, Veve GM, Hanitriniaina S, Agostini D, Goh SP, Pruitt J, Kuntner M (2015) Systematics of the Madagascar Anelosimus spiders: remarkable local richness and endemism, and dual colonization from the Americas. ZooKeys 509: 13-52. Journal information: ZooKeys Agnarsson I, Jencik BB, Veve GM, Hanitriniaina S, Agostini D, Goh SP, Pruitt J, Kuntner M (2015) Systematics of the Madagascar Anelosimus spiders: remarkable local richness and endemism, and dual colonization from the Americas.509: 13-52. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.509.8897

Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly have been ordered to cease their long-running on-air “feud,” said Glenn Greenwald in Salon, according to a “remarkable story” in The New York Times. Jeffrey Immelt, the chairman of General Electric (which owns MSNBC), and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch (owner of Fox News) had Charlie Rose mediate an end to the sniping, because it was bad for GE and News Corp. That’s “nothing less than corporate censorship.” It sound more like the “grown-ups” at Fox and MSNBC finally putting an end to this “silly feud,” said Don Suber in the Charleston, W. Va., Daily Mail. “Good call.” It was a “great marketing tool” for Olbermann, but GE didn’t need the “bad publicity” and News Corp. was wary of angering “a major advertiser.” And you know what? “Immelt and Rupert Murdoch are the bosses. They sign the paychecks.” The real tragedy of NBC’s cowardly promise to ease off on Fox, said Ryan Tate in Gawker, is that it ruins the rare reminder that “corporate media didn’t have to be toothless or dull media.” The feud also made for surprisingly “good journalism,” with each host calling out the other side’s falsehoods, mistakes, and “tasteless moments.” Olbermann “isn’t declaring peace, he’s declaring cease-fire,” said Aaron Barnhart in The Kansas City Star. (Watch Olbermann's explanation) But even as a temporary detente, “I’m not buying it.” Show-business feuds are too good for business. So no, “the Billo-Keith feud is, like ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ on hiatus, and will return someday with new episodes. And boy, I can’t wait for that.”

GOP Gubernatorial Candidates In New Jersey And Virginia Are Focusing On Illegal Immigration This fall in New Jersey and Virginia, Republican candidates aligned with party's business-friendly wing are campaigning against illegal immigration. The attack ads in both statewide gubernatorial elections claim their Democratic opponents wouldn't enforce immigration laws. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Two states are electing new governors this year - New Jersey and Virginia. In both places, an ad war is playing out over illegal immigration. The Republican candidates in both of these states have released attack ads claiming the Democratic opponents would not enforce immigration laws and would endanger people living in those states. These two races are among the few statewide elections since President Trump won last fall. Joe Hernandez from member station WHYY reports. JOE HERNANDEZ, BYLINE: For months, Republican candidate Kim Guadagno focused her campaign for governor of New Jersey on a promise to lower property taxes. She also reached out to the state's sizable Latino population, kicking off her campaign at a Mexican restaurant and picking a Cuban running mate. But just a few weeks before the election, down heavily in the polls to her Democratic opponent, Guadagno released a TV ad entitled "Sanctuary." It opens with an image of Jose Carranza in an orange prison jumpsuit. (SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD, "SANCTUARY") UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Illegal alien and child rapist Jose Carranza shot four New Jersey students in the head. HERNANDEZ: Carranza was part of a brutal crime in Newark in 2007 that left three young people dead and one sexually assaulted, stabbed and shot. Carranza was in the country illegally. In the ad, Guadagno draws a direct link between that crime and her Democratic opponent Phil Murphy, who suggested he would block state and local cops from helping federal immigration officials. (SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD, "SANCTUARY") UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Murphy will have the backs of deranged murderers like Carranza, providing sanctuary in New Jersey. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PHIL MURPHY: We'll be a sanctuary not just city but state. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Murphy doesn't have our backs. He has theirs. Phil Murphy - too dangerous for New Jersey. HERNANDEZ: Similar ads are airing in Virginia. There, Republican Ed Gillespie is slamming Democrat Ralph Northam for voting against a bill that would've banned sanctuary cities in Virginia, even though there aren't any. Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chair who once spoke of diversifying the GOP, moved to the right after a tough primary this spring. In this TV ad, the Gillespie campaign implies that Northam's vote against the bill was a boon to the violent street gang MS-13, which was started by immigrants from El Salvador. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Northam cast the deciding vote in favor of sanctuary cities that let illegal immigrants who commit crimes back on the street, increasing the threat of MS-13. HERNANDEZ: Both Phil Murphy in New Jersey and Ralph Northam in Virginia say violent criminals should be prosecuted, regardless of their immigration status. But that hasn't stopped the Republican candidates in both states from going all in on the illegal immigration message. It's a page out of the political playbook of President Trump, who kicked off his presidential campaign attacking Mexican immigrants. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. STELLA ROUSE: His philosophy is the one that's being implemented. You can see that in these two races. HERNANDEZ: Stella Rouse is the director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland. She says Republican candidates have to follow their party's voters. And those voters are with Trump on immigration. That's despite studies showing that immigrants in the country illegally commit crimes at lower rates than native-born U.S. citizens. Rouse says politicians are hoping the message that worked for Trump on the national level will be effective on the state level, too. ROUSE: It's a way to divide groups, to say, look, this group is a threat to our group. You know, it's a threat to our way of life. It's a threat to our values. HERNANDEZ: Whether that message works will be up to voters next Tuesday. For NPR News, I'm Joe Hernandez. Copyright © 2017 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

The Brothers Koch: Rich, Political And Playing To Win Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew H. Walker/Staff/Getty Images Andrew H. Walker/Staff/Getty Images Chances are you've never heard of Charles and David Koch. The brothers own Koch Industries, a Kansas-based conglomerate that operates oil refineries in several states and is the company behind brands including Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Lycra fibers and Stainmaster carpet. Forbes ranks Koch Industries as the second-largest privately held company in the U.S. -- and the Koch brothers themselves? They're worth billions. And in the past 30 years, they've funneled more than $100 million into dozens of political organizations, many of which are trying to steer the country in a more libertarian direction. Among the organizations they've backed are the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank that has recently raised questions about climate change, and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia -- which one Democratic strategist called "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington." Enlarge this image toggle caption The New Yorker The New Yorker The brothers also have created several neutral-sounding groups like Citizens for a Sound Economy -- which staged media events to oppose President Clinton's proposed Btu tax on energy -- and Citizens for the Environment, which called many environmental problems, including acid rain, "myths." David Koch founded the group Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which has been linked to the Tea Party -- training hundreds of activists in Texas and hosting talking points for Tea Party activists on its website. Jane Mayer, a staff writer at The New Yorker, profiles the brothers and their political connections in the Aug. 30 issue of the magazine. Her article "Covert Operations" describes how the brothers' political interests "dovetail with [their] corporate interests." In Their Own Words Koch Industries Responds To Media Reports On Thursday's Fresh Air, Mayer joins Terry Gross for a conversation about the Kochs' funding efforts, particularly what she describes as their broad and vigorous campaigns to manufacture grassroots political opinion. As she notes in the article, "the brothers have funded opposition campaigns against so many Obama administration policies -- from health care reform to the economic-stimulus program -- that, in political circles, their ideological network is known as the Kochtopus." (Koch Industries has responded to recent media coverage and Internet discussions with a set of "Koch Facts" published on its website.) Before joining The New Yorker, Mayer was the first female White House correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. She is also the author of the best-selling 2008 book The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals.

Safe Storage of Passwords, Private Keys, and Other Important Information KeepMySeed Follow Jan 4 · 5 min read KeepMySeed.com Everyone who reads these lines has many his/her own accounts on the Internet, such as online banking, social networks, e-mail, private keys, seed phrases needed to recover Bitcoin funds on-chain, etc. … Many things in our world depend on the safe storage of this data. And many people make a mistake and store all their passwords and other sensitive data in regular files on their devices. All the devices are network-connected, and thus, they are subject to cyber threats, such as Trojans, viruses, hacker attacks, etc. One of these fine days, you can be left without access to your e-mail address to which almost all your accounts are attached. And having lost access to your e-mail, you automatically lose access to many of your accounts linked to your e-mail. After all, an attacker will have no trouble changing the passwords from your accounts using your e-mail. What does this threaten? The attacker will see all your personal correspondence from social networks. And if there is information compromising you, you can be subject to extortion and surrender. Online banking is also vulnerable, and even two-factor authentication via SMS is not a sovereign remedy at the present time. There are so many ways to bypass this protection in 2020. In other words, you can lose all your money. But currently, attackers show a special interest in cryptocurrency wallets. After all, having gained access to such a wallet, they can transfer all funds to their addresses with impunity and without special schemes to hide traces, as against ordinary bank accounts. Our KeepMySeed team thought about methods for safe storage of sensitive data for a very long time and came up with an interesting idea: We offer you to store important data in NFC tags. What are NFC tags? NFC tags are passive devices that operate without power supply; they must fall within a certain range for activation. The tags cannot transfer data by themselves; instead, they are simply used to transfer information to an “active” device — to a Smartphone, for example. Why did we decide on this particular method? 1. An NFC tag is not connected to the Internet. And this means that it is not subject to such threats as the penetration of a trojan or other hacker attack. 2. NFC tags have a low cost. The simplest NFC tag in the form of a sticker costs from 10 rubles. It is sold in almost every city. You can record the most important data on such a label and stick it, for example, under the cover of your passport. As we know, most adequate people hide their passports in a safe place. Hence, your passwords will be in safekeeping. 3. It is easy to work with NFC tags. Currently, most Smartphones have the ability to record and read NFC tags. How does it work? We developed KeepMySeed, a special application on Android (the version on iOS will be ready in the nearest future). First of all, you should install the application on your Smartphone and run it. Then bring the Smartphone to the NFC tag. A dialog box appears in which you should enter your sensitive data. Also, when recording, you can specify “Encrypt Data”. In this case, the program will propose you to enter a password for the data encryption. And the data will be encrypted using the AES — this is the safest data storage method. All your sensitive data in the tag will be encrypted. And even if an attacker takes possession of your tag, he/she can only read disorganized data. In order to obtain ordered data from this data chaos, the attacker will have to enter the password key for decryption, which you created when recording the tag. As a result, we have the following: You need to create and remember only one password key. This password key will be used to encrypt and decrypt your data in the NFC tag. This is much easier than remembering dozens of logins and passwords. NFC tags may be in many different types and form factors as follows: NFC stickers — these are thin stickers with a chip integrated. Smart rings with NFC chip — all your sensitive data is in the ring on your finger in the encrypted form. NFC implants for implantation under the skin — at the present time, the surgery for implanting an NFC chip under the skin can be performed painlessly in almost any piercing center. The chip itself is very tiny and does not make itself felt under the skin. NFC key chains, cards, etc. If there are no NFC tags sales outlets in your city, you can order them on our website https://KeepMySeed.com/ You can download the KeepMySeed application for recording and reading NFC tags on Google Play (This application has open source code. And it is available for audit. You may find all information about this on the page on Google Play). You can follow the news about the development of the project in our telegram channel https://tglink.ru/KeepMySeed (The version of the application for iOS will be announced in the nearest future here). If you have any questions about the program, you can write in our telegram chat https://tglink.ru/KeepMySeed_chat The visual demonstration of the application is here: https://youtu.be/KJtpDS01ocE Sincerely yours KeepMySeed.com Team

Federal prosecutors are investigating interactions between vendors and officials at President Trump’s inaugural committee, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officials at the committee reportedly pushed back against top vendor Hargrove Inc., which purportedly submitted a budget that used “wildly different pricing” from previous inaugurals. The newspaper also reports that after the Trump D.C. hotel asked for $3.6 million for eight days of catering and space rental, an unnamed inaugural official forwarded the request to other committee members. “Ummm…” the official reportedly wrote. Other elements of the inaugural – which took in a record $107 million haul – have attracted interest. Prosecutors are investigating whether or not inaugural vendors took payments off the books for services provided to the committee, according to news reports. The WSJ story sheds more light on a phone call between Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and inaugural vendor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, whose company WIS Media Partners was paid $25 million by the committee. A recording of the call was found by federal prosecutors during an April 2018 raid of Cohen’s office, sparking the investigation. The WSJ reports that Wolkoff expressed concerns on the recording regarding Hargrove, deputy inaugural chair Rick Gates, and the committee’s chairman Tom Barrack. Manhattan federal prosecutors subpoenaed the committee this month for information regarding the inaugural’s spending, and whether foreign nationals had given money in contravention of federal campaign finance laws.

This summer, iconic Disneyland park attractions make their return with the reopening of “Fantasmic!,” the Rivers of America attractions and the Disneyland Railroad. We know these classic attractions – many of which have delighted guests since the park’s opening day – are very special to Disneyland park fans, and we are excited to celebrate their return. For 25 years, “Fantasmic!” has taken Disneyland park guests on a journey into Mickey Mouse’s imagination, and its return on July 17 – in celebration of the park’s 62nd anniversary – will bring new magic to this beloved nighttime spectacular! The treasured Disneyland park experience guests have loved for years, complete with its original fanfare and theme song, will be taken to brilliant new heights. New mist screens will combine with innovative, state-of-the-art projection technology for brighter and more vibrant visuals than ever before, and the show will feature new scenes inspired by Disney animated classics such as “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.” Also this summer, the classic Rivers of America attractions will reopen, starting with Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island this Friday, June 16, followed by Mark Twain Riverboat, Sailing Ship Columbia and Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes on July 29. For decades, guests have traveled the landscapes inspired by four of America’s majestic rivers: the Mississippi, the Columbia, the Missouri and the Rio Grande; each carefully recreated, complete with indigenous rock formations, natural forests and wildlife. The return of these watercraft will bring even more breathtaking views for guests to discover, including an enhanced adventure featuring the new Columbia Gorge section, highlighted by five picturesque waterfalls. Last year, we shared the artist’s rendering above, courtesy of Walt Disney Imagineering, showing the gorgeous new north bank of the Rivers of America, which will feature a beautiful new waterfront. This new waterfront will also include several elevated trestles over which the Disneyland Railroad will travel when it reopens along with the Rivers of America attractions on July 29. An icon for more than 60 years, the Disneyland Railroad holds a special place in the hearts of our guests, and we are excited to take them on the grand circle tour of Walt Disney’s original Magic Kingdom once again. This classic experience will also feature new and enhanced adventures! For the very first time, the Disneyland Railroad will make a left-hand turn to continue around Disneyland park, and I’m excited to tell you that Walt Disney’s legendary dioramas of the Grand Canyon and Primeval World have been carefully restored to their original splendor, with a bit of new magic added to both! Don’t miss this iconic summer as some of your favorite attractions return to Disneyland park.

The Californian man behind the Innocence of Muslims online movie that triggered violence in the Middle East was sentenced to death on Wednesday in absentia in an Egyptian court. Mark Basseley Youssef was among the seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor sentenced on charges linked to the low-budget, anti-Islam film. Sentenced to death in Egypt ... Mark Basseley Youssef aka Nakoula Basseley Nikoula. Credit:Reuters The case was seen as largely symbolic because the defendants, most of whom live in the United States, are all outside Egypt and unlikely to ever serve the sentences. The charges were brought in September during a wave of public outrage in Egypt over the amateur film, which was produced by Youssef, who lived in Cerritos, California.

Saturnine Night Chris, Sam, and James discuss Promethean the Created 2nd ed , and go through the setting material, some of the mechanics, why we enjoy the setting and what we would play or explore within the game. We also discuss various events coming up and that have passed, including the "Gaming the Gothic" event recently at the University of Sheffield, and HorrorconUK, also in Sheffield. Also we discuss films and TV that act as great inspiration for the game, including; Various Frakenstein movies Ghost in the Shell The Lazarus Effect Westworld Splice and more. Timestamps: 2.15 - What have we been doing? 23.25 - News 34.35 - Promethean the Created 2e overview 1:24.34 - Kirlian Camera - Inspiration for Promethean the Created Corrections: Sheffield Gothic, the organising group, is based in the School of English (not media) and is the Postgrad arm of the Centre for the History of the Gothic. The Centre was founded five years ago to acknowledge Sheffield staff and students contributions to the field of Gothic studies over the years and GTG was part of the postgrad led ongoing project Reimagining the Gothic (https://reimagininggothic.com ).

The British Labour Party is prepared to back a second referendum to prevent a "damaging Tory Brexit" if its withdrawal plan is rejected by MPs this week. Jeremy Corbyn said he would put forward or support an amendment in favour of a public vote to stop Theresa May's deal being "forced on the country" if his Brexit demands are not met. Labour will seek to enshrine its five requirements in law by tabling an amendment to the government's Brexit motion which is set to be debated in the Commons on Wednesday. The demands include a permanent and comprehensive customs union with the EU and close alignment with the single market, as well as a dynamic alignment on rights and protections and commitments on participation in EU agencies and funding programmes. If the plan is rejected, Labour will then support a second referendum. The Labour leader told a heated meeting of the parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night: "The Prime Minister is recklessly running down the clock, in an attempt to force MPs to choose between her botched deal and a disastrous No Deal. We cannot and will not accept. "Last week, after our visit to talk to EU officials and leaders in Brussels and Madrid, no one can be in any doubt Labour's alternative Brexit plan is serious and credible. "We are convinced our alternative, which puts jobs and living standards first, could command support in the House of Commons, bring people who voted Leave and Remain together, and be negotiated with the EU. "That's why we will be putting down an amendment in parliament this week setting out Labour's plan: for a comprehensive customs union with a UK say; close alignment with the single market; guarantees on rights and standards; protection for Britain's role in EU agencies; and a security agreement which guarantees access to the European arrest warrant and vital shared databases. And we will be calling for legislation to underpin this mandate." He continued: "We will also be backing the Cooper-Letwin amendment to rule out a No Deal outcome. "One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent no deal and oppose a damaging Tory Brexit based on Theresa May's overwhelmingly rejected deal. "That's why, in line with our conference policy, we are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit being forced on the country." A Labour source heavily hinted that a Remain option would be on the ballot paper in a second referendum, saying: "We've said in the past that if there were another referendum that Remain would need to be on the ballot paper." And the source said Labour would not back any amendments which include support for the PM's "damaging Tory Brexit deal", after being asked about support for a compromise plan put forward by Labour MPs Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson. The two MPs have devised a plan to support the Prime Minister's Brexit deal on the condition it is put to a confirmatory public vote. But the source said: "We will not be voting for anything which includes support for Theresa May's damaging Tory Brexit deal." A briefing paper reportedly given to Labour MPs said any referendum would need to have "a credible Leave option and Remain". Shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said on Twitter: "This week Labour will put its alternative plan for a vote in the House of Commons. "If parliament rejects our plan, then Labour will deliver on the promise we made at our annual conference and support a public vote." Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry told the BBC a second referendum will "break the logjam". She said: "What she (Theresa May) wants to do is just get herself into a position whereby she says 'it's my deal or no deal'. "We think both of those are disastrous and so we will see what it is at the end of the parliamentary process - whether we're facing no deal or a disastrous Tory Brexit - but either should go before the people and we need to have the people to break the logjam because this isn't supported in parliament."

Sooo Stage 7… or was it Stage 6? We couldn’t tell. The outcome of both was inevitably similar on paper and was proven to be so. Stage 7 hair’s width difference finish between Boasson-Hagen and Kittell being the highlight of both stages. The real reason for missing Stage 7 is due to managing non-Marmeladrome work and life, but the transitional sprint stages of the Tour are a bore and a test on even the most die hard fan to sit through and find subjects of interest to keep them engaged. This issue has been highlighted more in 2017 with agreeing to broadcast stages on their entirety. On shorter, more fan friendly profiles this is a brilliant development, but on stages such as 6 and 7 it’s tough to keep the ratings high. We complain when we’ve missed dramatic action early on in the stage due to the TV broadcast starting midway through but if ASO is now proposing to show all stages in their entirety then they need to create a race that lends itself better to being fully televised. Of course, there is a need to have sprint stages and transition stages, but back to back 200+km of flat roads aren’t the way forward anymore. Mini-rant over – onto Stage 8! We finally reach the Jura mountains and the only flat roads appear during the first 28km -great! When the race reaches the town of Arbois the road starts to go upward and we have some testing undulating roads over the next 58km. The riders will then tackle the 3rd category climb of the Col de la Joux, a short 6km ascent with an average of 4.6%. After this, there is a long 21km descent that brings them to the foot of the penultimate climb, the 2nd category Côte de Viry. A step up from the previous climb at 7.6km and averaging 5.2% After some more rolling roads, the riders descend down to Saint-Claude for the final, and most testing, climb of the stage. The Montee de la Combe de Laisia Les Molunes, which is a mouthful and befits the nature of the climb, which is a long drawn out affair at 11.7km and 6.4% average. This will be a test of racing at your own pace and where stronger climbers could make others suffer by turning up the heat early on. After the summit, there are still 11km to race and these are again on undulating roads, the perfect point for a loan rider who’s attacked on the MdlCdLlM (that’s one catching acronym) to make it stick. The undulating terrain of Stage 8 lends itself to a breakaway. Also, given that Stage 9 contains 3 HC climbs, the GC race will likely take a back seat today and hopefully the peloton will be content with letting the break fight it out for stage honours. With that in mind here’s our pick of riders who’d we like to see in that break, with the criteria of being already far enough down on GC so as not to appear a threat to the yellow jersey: Dario Cataldo (-18:38 mins) Alessandro De Marchi (-23:29 mins) Pierre Rolland (-15:00 mins) Steve Cummings (-25:58 mins) Tony Gallopin (-16:24 mins) Gianluca Brambilla (-18:05 mins) Fabio Felline (-17:07 mins) Any breakaway prediction is a lottery and if any of these riders make it into the break they will be strong favourites to take the stage. The key is obviously allowing the peloton to give them enough elastic to make the move stick. Riders like Rolland, Cummings and Felline are arguably the ones in current form. Gallopin hit the deck during the time trial and will hopefully have recovered enough to fancy this stage. Cataldo and De Marchi are no strangers to a mountain heavy breakaway attempt whilst Brambilla won a stage at the Giro and Vuelta last from a small group. Podium Prediction

The businessman Brendan Duddy’s life was in many ways intertwined with the fortunes of his fellow Derry citizen Martin McGuinness, the former IRA chief of staff turned republican negotiator. Duddy, who has died aged 80, was trusted enough by McGuinness to establish what became known as “the link” and later as “the back channel”, between the IRA leadership in Derry, principally McGuinness, and the British government, via secret MI6 contacts. Duddy had known McGuinness since the late 1960s, when the latter used to deliver beefburgers from the butcher’s where he worked to Duddy’s fish and chip shop in Derry. Many years later, Duddy recalled to the veteran BBC reporter Peter Taylor that the youthful McGuinness came to his premises “to chat up the girls behind the counter and had absolutely no interest in politics”. The storm that broke over their home city from 1969 onwards, from the Battle of Bogside to internment and then on to the slaughter on Bloody Sunday in 1972, propelled McGuinness into and upwards through the ranks of the nascent Provisional IRA. Duddy, on the other hand, eschewed the use of political violence and instead built up a business mini-empire in a city that by the mid-1970s was being bombed relentlessly by the Provisionals under the orders of commanders including McGuinness. Yet despite diverging from McGuinness in terms of the “armed struggle”, as republicans call it, Duddy maintained close, friendly relations. From 1975 – the first major Provisional IRA ceasefire – Duddy belonged to a tripartite process that played a crucial part eventually in ending Northern Ireland’s Troubles and ushering in the peace process. Despite the failure to secure a lasting IRA end to violence in the mid-1970s, Duddy and the rest of “the link” resurrected the secret discussions in 1980 to help end the hunger strike taking place in the Maze prison, which a year later resulted in the deaths of seven IRA prisoners and three Irish National Liberation Army inmates. During these negotiations Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were fully briefed by the MI6 operatives involved in the talks, despite the Tories’ official policy of not talking to terrorists. Nine years later, Duddy was again involved in secret talks, again based in Derry, that included the MI6 officer Michael Oatley, who had made previous fruitless attempts to contact McGuinness via the businessman. However, the 1990 talks would eventually produce favourable results despite “the link” being exposed in the Observer three years later, again exposing the dichotomy between another Tory government’s official policy of no dialogue with terrorists while all the time agreeing to covert discussions with the IRA. The exposure of “the link” almost led to the negotiations being fatally compromised by one key sentence contained in communications between the IRA and the British. A note allegedly from the IRA leadership told the British “The conflict is over. Help us to end it.” When these words became public, McGuinness and the rest of the Sinn Féin leadership furiously denied they were behind them, even though they had helped convince John Major’s administration the IRA was serious about ending its armed campaign. Duddy felt in mortal danger from hardline elements within the IRA. In fact it was Duddy’s fellow go-between Denis Bradley, the former priest who had officiated at McGuinness’s wedding, who had written those critical few words. The first outcome of this secret triangular talks process was the creation of the Derry experiment, under which the IRA started to reduce its violence in the city, resulting in a situation where after 1990 there were no more British military casualties up to the Provisionals’ ceasefire four years later. Even after the IRA ceasefire was secured, and the peace process bedded in, Duddy continued to act as a go-between, bringing together old adversaries. He played a critical role in helping to reduce tensions between the Ulster loyalist marching orders and republican residents’ groups in Derry over contentious parades in the city. Duddy won the trust of Orangemen and members of the Apprentice Boys of Derry. He helped create a Derry experiment Mark II, in which dialogue between the loyal orders and republican residents led to a series of local agreements, with the city inspiring other parts of Northern Ireland to follow suit. Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief of staff, who in the post-ceasefire era held covert talks with IRA commanders, said had it not been for Duddy’s dogged pursuit of dialogue and of promoting talks with the British, there might not have been a peace process. The son of Mary and Laurence Duddy, Brendan spent most of his adult life running the family fish and chip shop before creating a retail and property, hotel and entertainment business portfolio that generated hundreds of jobs in a city blighted by unemployment and IRA economic sabotage. He is survived by his wife, Margo, and children, Patricia, Lawrence, Paula, Brendan, Shauna and Tonya, 21 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. • Brendan Duddy, businessman, born 10 June 1936; died 12 May 2017

Quelques jours avant Noël, l’Etat a décidé que notre journal ne bénéficierait pas du fonds stratégique pour le développement de la presse pour l’année 2014. Cette aide, qui avait atteint l’année précédente le montant faramineux de… 18 611 euros, entend favoriser le rayonnement des publications françaises à l’international. Un tel objet semblait pourtant taillé sur mesure pour Le Monde diplomatique, qui réalise près d’un cinquième de ses ventes à l’étranger et diffuse à travers le monde quarante-sept éditions en vingt-huit langues. Il faut croire que le ministère de la culture et de la communication couvre notre journal d’une tendresse particulière. En 2012, Le Monde diplomatique trônait à la 178e position des deux cents titres les plus aidés. Loin derrière Télécâble Sat Hebdo (27e), Closer (91e) ou Le Journal de Mickey (93e), alors que les aides à la presse prétendent encourager la « libre communication des pensées et des opinions » et « éclairer le citoyen ». En 2013, nous avons disparu de la liste, tandis (...)

Far away from the glitz and glamor the e-sports circuit, a different breed of semi-professional gamers is eking out an honest day’s work at arcades around the globe. If the Ninjas of the MLG, with their celebrity lifestyles and lucrative promo deals, are the World Series of Poker stars, these arcade hustlers—referred to within their community as “advantage players” (APs)—are more akin to legal card counters. These unassuming sharks will walk into a Dave & Buster's (or any other entertainment center with an arcade awarding tickets that can be exchanged for prizes), hit their handful of preferred games, and quietly rack up thousands and thousands of tickets. Doing this just a few days a week can quickly amass enough of a ticket balance to trade for the top shelf prizes that casual players could only dream of redeeming, like game consoles and iPads, which APs often sell for profit. For the elites in this scene, advantage playing straddles the line between obsessive hobby and part-time job. They aren't scamming or stealing their way to big wins. They're just incredibly good at these games and much of their skill is learned, rather than innate. Though baseline speed and reflexes are pre-requisites for success, it's primarily repetition and a nerdy devotion to the scene that breeds top-tier APs who are able to quickly discern whether a game's jackpot is ripe and able to be won or if it needs more time to "refill" through casual play. At home, APs study PDFs of game manuals downloaded from manufacturer sites, discuss strategies on their subreddit, track fluctuations in prize ticket value, and post YouTube videos showcasing their talents. But despite the internet’s aid in connecting APs worldwide and revealing the tricks of their trade to new generations of players, their numbers are dwindling. Michael Lucas, an advantage player in Pittsburgh, said that less than a decade ago, $100-per-hour profits weren’t uncommon, and players, arcade management, and game manufacturers all operated with respect for one another, unspoken gentlemen’s agreements keeping the peace. “They tolerated what we did to a fair degree,” Lucas told me in a phone call. “We knew we were killing it. They knew that we were killing it. But they also knew that we were doing it by the book and not doing anything to cheat.” Advantage player Justin Wei winning the jackpot on the 'Pop the Lock' game at a Dave and Buster's in Los Angeles. Photo by Jamie Lee Curtis Taete For a time, Lucas said, the cycle would go as follows: advantage players would find a game to master and farm for infinite jackpots, management would catch wind and adjust the settings or download a software patch to nullify the exploit, forcing the players to rotate to other games while the jackpot gradually built back up past the threshold that allows it to be won again. Lucas pointed to Tippin’ Bloks, a game in which the player moves a paddle to try and catch falling blocks into a nine-high stack, as a case study in this sequence. “On the old software back in 2011, [Tippin' Bloks'] 'impossible mode' wasn't very impossible, and people started to catch on,” he recalled. “Once the community figured that out, the average good Tippin’ Bloks player was winning four out of every five games. [Dave & Buster's] phoned up the makers of the game, ICE, and said, ‘Hey, this game's getting killed here and we don't want to drop the jackpot. Can you make the software work so there’s the win/loss control that we initially wanted?’ About seven months later, the software update began to roll out to the stores and we immediately noticed the difference and we all kind of gave up on it. But, in that patch, [ICE] also added an obvious tell that shows when the game is ready to pay out, which I consider a blatant nod to the community.” When asked to verify if a change had been made at the request of Dave & Buster's or if their games were programmed with any nods to advantage players, an ICE representative said "no comment." Dave & Buster's did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this article. Justin Wei, an advantage player from Irvine, California, says he believes his local Dave & Buster's "puts their machines on harder settings to discourage advantage players from coming." This has forced him and his friends to make one to two hour drives to the franchise's Hollywood location if he wants to earn serious tickets. He presumes that because that tourist-heavy Hollywood location "is so profitable and makes so much money, that they don't care if we come in and keep their games on normal settings." Despite the frustration it causes some, Lucas considers settings adjustment and exploit patch responses to APs fair play, and understands the necessity to clamp down on free-for-alls. He's less amiable when corporate makes sweeping, company-wide changes to ticket valuation in the same way one might be upset if the Federal Reserve suddenly chose to double the amount of currency in circulation. To keep all parties satisfied and help prevent such drastic steps, Lucas claimed he cultivated a friendly relationship with the management at his neighborhood Dave & Buster's, resulting in their being “very up-front” with him about their targets for a game’s take-to-payout ratio. “If something's running a little high, they would actually tell me and I’ll back off a bit,” he explained. But not everyone is so tolerant of advantage players. Lucas’ tone hardened as he recalled a manager at a mom-and-pop local arcade who once changed the settings on all the games he’d been working when he stepped outside for a phone call. “He couldn’t even wait for me to get off the property,” he seethed. “I knew I was never going back there and they were just going to change everything when I left, so I had no qualms about killing him.” The “killing” here refers to Lucas going back in, redoubling his gameplay efforts, and cashing out for a Nintendo Switch plus four game package, taking a prize bundle that he presumed cost the house $600 or more for only $170 of his own. Not literal murder. When asked if he could understand why a non-franchise arcade might want to shoo his kind away, Lucas was unsympathetic. “If the absolute best player to ever walk through that door, gives it everything he has and demolishes every game you have and he still only comes out ahead enough money that once you have two families of four walk in, sit down, eat and—boom—you have all your money back, is that really that big of a problem?” he asked. The mix of hostile managers, apparently nerfed cash cow games, ever-increasing game prices, and changes in ticket-to-dollar exchange rates has gradually forced advantage players to become jacks of all trades rather than specialists. For many, the cost/benefit of this arrangement no longer makes sense, and the herd has thinned substantially. “I had a whole list of contacts in my phone for nothing but advantage play,” said Lucas of his local peers. “I had about 17 or 18 people I’d send out mass texts to like ‘Hey, this game’s broken’ or ‘This game’s fixed.’” He said he's now down to one remaining IRL comrade, a former pupil named Joe Minkel. Years back, Lucas helped Minkel hone his natural gaming skills for advantage play and educated him in the strategy and benefits of sharing arcades as a group. “Mike actually wanted to start a community of people that work together,” Minkel told me. “We're all in cahoots like, 'Okay, we're not going to kill a game. We're going to keep it profitable so that the jackpot doesn't get lowered.'” Minkel said he now sees an increasing number of lone wolves who’ve learned how to beat a few games coming in to wipe out an arcade with little regard for other players or the long-term impact their assaults may have on company policy. “I don't like calling them APs,” he said. “I call them ‘pirates’ because they're in it for the booty and themselves. They just swoop in and ruin things.” These days, Minkel is more focused on entertaining the audience for his popular arcade-centric YouTube channel than flipping prizes when he hits an arcade. Lucas, who says advantage play used to make him more money annually than his day job managing a liquor store, still earns from the endeavor, though it now makes up only a third of his income. Neither can imagine a time when they stop going to arcades, and are heartened by the few advantage players they know in younger generations, but both seem to acknowledge their glory days are behind them. “I'm not asking to go back to the days where I was making beaucoup amounts of money in a short amount of time, because I know that's not sustainable,” reflected Lucas. “Just don't quit your day job, kids. This isn't something you're going to do and be able to quit your job and tell everyone to go bleep themselves and live the high life and roll around in a Ferrari. This is something that's basically going to be your beer money.” Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily. Follow Justin Caffier on Twitter.

× Project Code //Display window size int widthD= 400; int HeightD= 600; int score=0; int lives=5; //Bricks int spaceBetweenBricks= 5; int numberOfBricks= 10; int numberOfBrickRows= 10; int spaceFromCeiling= 20; //space between the first row of bricks and the ceiling float brickWidth= (widthD-(numberOfBricks-2)*spaceBetweenBricks)/numberOfBricks; float brickHeight= 10; color brickColors[]= {color(255, 0,0), color(125, 125, 0),color(255,125,0),color(0,255,0),color(0,0,255),color(0, 125, 125),color(0,125,255),color(255,125,255),color(255,0,255),color(255,125,125)}; color brickColor= color(255,0,0); ArrayList<Block> BasketOfBricks= new ArrayList<Block>(); //Ball int ballWidth= 16; float ballStartX=random(widthD); float ballStartY=HeightD/2; color ballColor= color(255, 0, 0); color ballColor1= color(0,0,255); Ball Moe= new Ball(ballStartX, ballStartY, ballWidth, ballColor); Ball Raisin= new Ball(ballStartX, ballStartY, ballWidth, ballColor1); //Paddle int paddleX= widthD/2; int paddleY= HeightD-50; int paddleHeight= 20; int paddleWidth= 70; color paddleColor= color(255, 0, 255); Block paddle= new Block(paddleX, paddleY, paddleWidth, paddleHeight, paddleColor); void setup() { size(widthD, HeightD); background(255); setupBricks(); } void draw() { if(lives>0){ background(0,0,0); drawBricks(); drawBall(); drawPaddle(); drawText(); } else if (lives==0){ background(0,0,0); fill(255,0,0); displayText("You're a loser",width/4,height/2,false); } if (BasketOfBricks.size()==0){ background(0,0,0); fill(255,255,0); displayText("You're a winner",width/4,height/2,false); } } //initialize all the bricks void setupBricks() { for(int brickNumber=0; brickNumber<numberOfBricks;brickNumber++){ rect((brickWidth+spaceBetweenBricks)*brickNumber,spaceFromCeiling,brickWidth,brickHeight); for(int rowNumber=0; rowNumber<numberOfBrickRows;rowNumber++){ color brickColor=(brickColors[rowNumber]); BasketOfBricks.add(new Block((brickWidth+spaceBetweenBricks)*brickNumber,((brickHeight+spaceBetweenBricks)*rowNumber)+spaceFromCeiling,brickWidth,brickHeight,brickColor)); } } } //draw the bricks void drawBricks() { for(int brickNumber= BasketOfBricks.size()-1; brickNumber>=0; brickNumber--) { Block brick=BasketOfBricks.get(brickNumber); brick.draw(); if (brick.collidesWith(Moe)){ BasketOfBricks.remove(brick); updateScore(); } } } //draw the ball void drawBall() { Moe.update(); Moe.draw(); if (Moe.checkWallCollision()) { updateLives(); Moe.move(width/2,height/2); } } //draw the paddle and have it move with the mouse void drawPaddle() { paddle.draw(); paddle.move(mouseX, paddleY); paddle.collidesWith(Moe); } //drawText void drawText() { fill(255,125,150); displayText("Score:" +score,0,height,false); displayText("Lives:" +lives,2*width/3,height,false); } void displayText(String message, int x, int y, boolean isCentered) { textSize(32); String name= message; float textX= x; if (isCentered) { float widthText= textWidth(name); textX= (width-widthText)/2; } int textY= y; text(name, textX, textY); } void drawLose() { } void updateScore() { score=score+10; } void updateLives() { lives=lives-1; } /*******Ball Class**************/ /* The default class has the following default modes * Constructor function: to create a new ball call: Ball ballName= new Ball(x, y, Width, Color); * ballName.draw(); //this draws the ball * ballName.update(); //this moves the ball * ballName.checkWallCollision(); // */ class Ball { float ballX; float ballY; float ballWidth; color ballColor; float speedY= -10; float speedX= 10; float ballR=ballWidth/2; //This is constructor known as the function that initiates Ball(float x, float y, int Width, color Color) { ballX= x; ballY= y; ballWidth= Width; ballColor= Color; } //this draws the ball on the screen void draw() { noStroke(); fill(ballColor); ellipse(ballX, ballY, ballWidth, ballWidth); } //this changes the ball to the speed; void update() { ballX+=speedX; ballY+=speedY; } void move(int X, int Y) { ballX=X; ballY= Y; speedY= 7; speedX= 7; } //this does the bounce boolean checkWallCollision() { if (ballX>width-ballWidth/2) { speedX=-abs(speedX); } else if (ballX<ballWidth/2) { speedX=abs(speedX); } if (ballY>height-ballWidth/2) { speedY=-abs(speedY); return true; } else if (ballY<ballWidth/2) { speedY= abs(speedY); } return false; } } /*******Block Class**************/ /* The default class has the following default modes * Constructor function: to create a new block call: Block blockName= new Block(x, y, Width, Height, Color); * blockName.draw(); //this draws the ball * blockName.move(x, y); //this moves the block to be centered on X and Y * blockName.collidesWith(Ball b); //checks if it collided with the ball * //and makes the ball bounce * blockName.setHits(int numberOfHits); //allows you to set the number of times a brick needs to hit * blockName.getHIts(int numberOfHits); //tells you how times left the brick can be hit */ class Block { float blockX; float blockY; float blockWidth; float blockHeight; color blockColor; int maxHits= 1; int hits=maxHits; //This is constructor known as the function that initiates Block(float x, float y, float Width, float Height, color Color) { blockX= x; blockY= y; blockWidth= Width; blockHeight= Height; blockColor= Color; } //this draws the block on the screen void draw() { noStroke(); fill(blockColor); rect(blockX, blockY, blockWidth, blockHeight); } //this moves the block //to be centered on X, Y coordinates void move(int X, int Y) { blockX=X-blockWidth/2; blockY=Y-blockHeight/2; //prevents it from going off screen on the X direction if (blockX+blockWidth>width) { blockX=width-blockWidth; } else if (blockX<0) { blockX=0; } //prevents it from going off screen on the the Y direction if (blockY+blockHeight>height) { blockY=height-blockWidth; } else if (blockY<0) { blockY=0; } } //allows you to change the number of times an individual block can be hit void setMaxHits(int numberOfHits) { maxHits=numberOfHits; hits= maxHits; } //tells you if the brick can be hit more //returns 0 if the brick needs to be removed //useful if you want the brick hit multiple times int getHits() { return hits; } //returns a boolean if it collides with a ball. // It automatically changes the speed of the ball boolean collidesWith(Ball b) { //collides with bottom of block if ((b.ballX+b.ballWidth/4>blockX && b.ballX-b.ballWidth/4<blockX+blockWidth) && (b.ballY-b.ballWidth/2<(blockY+blockHeight) && b.ballY-ballWidth/2>blockY)) { //println("Collision Bottom 2 "); b.speedY=abs(b.speedY); hits--; return true; } //collides with top of block if ((b.ballX+b.ballWidth/4>blockX && b.ballX-b.ballWidth/4<blockX+blockWidth) && (b.ballY+b.ballWidth/2<blockY+blockHeight && b.ballY+b.ballWidth/2>blockY)) { //println("Collision Top "); b.speedY=-abs(b.speedY); hits--; return true; } //collides with Left side of block else if ((b.ballY+b.ballWidth/4>blockY && b.ballY-b.ballWidth/4<blockY+blockHeight) && (b.ballX+b.ballWidth/2>blockX && b.ballX+b.ballWidth/2<blockX+blockWidth)) { //println("Collision Left "); b.speedX=-abs(b.speedX); hits--; return true; } //collides with Right side of block if ((b.ballY+b.ballWidth/4>blockY && b.ballY-b.ballWidth/4<blockY+blockHeight) && (b.ballX-b.ballWidth/2<blockX+blockWidth && b.ballX-b.ballWidth/2>blockX)) { //println("Collision Right"); b.speedX=abs(b.speedX); hits--; return true; } return false; } }

If you're a Baltimore Ravens fan, you're probably itching to see the 2016 season get started after a frustrating 2015 campaign left you wanting much more. Unfortunately, several months stand in front of us and the week one opener against the Buffalo Bills. But there isn't anything wrong with reckless predictions and rampant speculation about how the season will go, and with that in mind, I decided to see how EA's Madden NFL series thinks the Ravens will fare in the 2016 season. Week 1: Buffalo at Baltimore After a nice kickoff return by Keenan Reynolds (nearly forty yards) quarterback, Joe Flacco's first drive back from injury is a success. A nice dosage of Justin Forsett, as well as some long gains by Steve Smith Sr. and Maxx Williams, put the Ravens down at the three-yard line, where Flacco would run it in himself (I guess that knee is doing okay). BAL- 7, BUF- 0 Buffalo's next drive exclusively featured handoffs to LeSean McCoy until the Bills got into Ravens territory. When they finally decided to air it out, Taylor is picked off by Jimmy Smith who would add about 9 yards on the return. Nothing of note happened until the second quarter when Buffalo drove down near the goal line, where fullback Mike Gillislee punched it in from the 3. BAL- 7, BUF- 7 After the next Ravens possession stalled, Buffalo would get the ball back and take it back down into the red zone, and hand it off to McCoy for a two-yard score. BAL- 7, BUF- 14 Down by 7, the Ravens needed to answer and they sure did. On a drive assisted by a long penalty, the Ravens handed it off to Buck Allen and Justin Forsett most of the time, until a 3rd and 4 saw Flacco hit his pal Steve Smith Sr. for a 23-yard score late in the second (Welcome back). BAL- 14, BUF- 14 After stalled drives by both teams, Buffalo would breach Ravens territory after a 15-yard penalty, setting up Tyrod Taylor to hit Leonard Hankerson for a 41-yard touchdown. BAL- 14, BUF- 21 Following halftime, Buffalo would get the ball right back, and drive down the field once again with momentum on their side. They continue to use the ground game to their advantage, pounding the rock with McCoy and Karlos Williams, the latter of which would score on a four-yard run halfway through the third. BAL- 14, BUF- 28 Once again, the Ravens need to answer, and once again they do just that. Kamar Aiken is a spark plug for the offense, catching two passes for 44 yards on this drive, that would eventually end with a three-yard touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson (Welcome to Baltimore). BAL- 21, BUF- 28 Buffalo would get the ball back near the end of the third, but do nothing with it, and the Ravens would soon see themselves in the driver's seat to tie the game. Getting the ball at their own 25, they mostly hand it off to Forsett, until they see an opportunity to once again feed the beast. On a 2nd and 6 in Bills territory, Flacco throws deep to Steve Smith Sr., who hauls in his second touchdown of the game, this time from 32 yards out. BAL- 28, BUF- 28 Both teams exchanged punts until a little bit into the fourth quarter when the Bills took advantage of a long penalty and a 21-yard completion to Marquise Goodwin to take the lead through a six-yard touchdown run from McCoy. BAL- 28, BUF- 35 The Ravens defense is not coming through today, and if the team has any hope of winning, they'll need another drive out of the offense. Unfortunately, they don't quite get it on the next possession. After a long reception by Aiken and a nice run by Forsett, Flacco is picked off by former Raven Corey Graham at the Buffalo 41. Now with momentum on their side, a long completion to Sammy Watkins looked like it could have been the dagger in this game, but Tyrod Taylor gift wrapped his old team an opportunity when Jimmy Smith picked him off at the Ravens 19 yard line. With 6:18 left to go in this one, the Ravens will be happy to force overtime at this point, but to do that, they'll need to put together a drive or two. That won't happen immediately, as an offensive foul prevents them from doing anything on the drive following the interception. Now set up on their own 30, it looked like Buffalo could potentially fork the Ravens yet again, but, yet again, they throw away their opportunity to do so (Literally). Newly converted free safety Lardarius Webb picks off Taylor, and adds twenty yards on the return, setting the Ravens up with a late opportunity to equalize from the Buffalo 17. They waste no time doing so, as Forsett handles the ball a few times, before scoring on a nine-yard reception. BAL- 35, BUF- 35 Buffalo's next drive quickly stalls after two incompletions to Sammy Watkins, and the Ravens would get the ball on their own 9 with a chance to win the game. They do well to get out of their own territory, relying heavily on Forsett and Smith Sr. to get them to the other side of the field. Finally in scoring position, a sack and an offensive penalty stalls the Ravens a bit, but a short rush by Buck Allen and a long reception by Benjamin Watson sets up Justin Tucker for a 48-yard field goal, which he puts through with 1:58 left to go in the game. BAL- 38, BUF- 35 Looking to perform some late game heroics against his former team, Tyrod Taylor could not be more perfectly set up. Down three with 1:54 left to go and three timeouts, the Bills seem ready to gash a tired Ravens defense, and that's exactly what they do at first. Using a combination of his legs and the short passing game, Taylor gets Buffalo to the Ravens 44 yard line where he faces a 3rd and 7. Unable to find anyone, he scrambles forward for a 5 yard gain, which brings out kicker Dan Carpenter to attempt to tie the game. His 56-yard attempt is... no good! BAL- 38, BUF- 35 With :44 seconds left in the game, the Ravens are set up to leave week one as winners. A quick three and out on three rushing attempts kills some clock and forces Buffalo to use all of their timeouts. The Bills get the ball back on a touchback punt, but aside from a few rushes from Taylor, they do nothing with it. Your Baltimore Ravens are virtually 1-0! Notable Ravens Stats: Joe Flacco- 21 of 35 for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns and 1 interception for an 112.4 rating. He also added a rushing touchdown. Justin Forsett- Ran the ball 31 times for 151 yards, and had a nine-yard receiving touchdown. Steve Smith Sr.- Caught 6 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Kamar Aiken- Caught five passes for 91 yards. Ben Watson- Caught four passes for 27 yards and a touchdown . C.J. Mosley- 20 tackles (!) and a pass deflection. Eric Weddle- nine tackles and pass breakup. Albert McClellan- Started alongside C.J. Mosley and had 8 tackles as well as a forced fumble. Kamalei Correa- six total tackles. Jimmy Smith had two interceptions, and Lardarius Webb added one as well. What did you guys think of this in depth prediction of our week one showdown with the Bills? Let us know in the comments below.

I wake up suddenly, staring at the ceiling of our apartment. I hear some drunk bros across the street at the bodega arguing in the humid Brooklyn night. I look at Seema, sleeping peacefully beside me. Sleep is nice. It’s our only escape from having to deal with the newfound stress and sadness that has entered our lives. The screaming bros prevent me from sleeping, so I continue staring at our white ceiling instead. I grasp at distant memories to cheer myself. I find myself thinking about our wedding weekend eight months earlier in Charleston. I remember Seema’s bright smile during our first dance to Rose Royce’s “I Wanna Get Next to You.” I see us both surrounded by a sea of friends and family dancing to B.I.G., Kishore Kumar and Montel Jordan. I remember speeches from loved ones and our parents drastically underestimating how much alcohol our friends would drink. I remember these same friends settling for warm shots of gin after cleaning out the bar on that cool November night in 2013. I see Seema and me on a raised mandap on the banks of the Ashley River in front of our closest friends and family on an idyllic Fall day. Seema looks like an Indian queen in her crimson sari with her gold jewelry sparkling. Her dark hair and big, brown eyes are framed by her crimson veil. The dupatta that hangs around my neck is tied in a knot with her veil, connecting us as we hold hands and take turns leading each other around a sacred fire. Each orbit around the flames symbolizes the devotion to each other needed for a happy marriage. Afterwards we perform the Satapadi, the seven steps we take together that each represent a different marriage vow of strength, positivity, prosperity, health, happiness, trust and love. I didn’t realize the vows would be tested so early. I assumed I’d have at least a few decades until our first family health crisis. I want more time. I need more time. I feel like I'm not ready for this, and I can never let Seema know that. The bros continue to scream outside our bedroom window, pulling me back to reality and the blank ceiling in our apartment. The last 48 hours have been a marathon of medical appointments. Dad and Seema’s mom have flown up to provide moral support but to also act as medical translators who can interpret the tsunami of medical jargon and analysis that is quickly enveloping us. Dad is a cardio thoracic surgeon who grew up in rural India and ended up raising our family in a small town in Georgia. My bald head, eyes and nose are his own. He has a deep commanding voice and is always ready sit back with a glass of wine and reminisce. He brings a calming presence to any situation. As fate would have it, Dad attended medical school with Seema’s mom in the mid 70’s. I lovingly refer to her as Aai, the term for mother in Marathi. When pronounced correctly, “Aai” sounds like a truncated version of the noise an Ewok screams during a surprise attack on Endor. Aai is a successful OB-GYN who has an incredible bond with her daughter. She’s a few inches shorter than Seema, and when in motion, takes short steps that create her trademark waddle. Her shoulder length hair hasn’t changed since I met her in 2007. She likes to laugh and takes immense pride in her ability to make an excellent cup of chai each morning for her family. Seema is paired with a new team of doctors at NYU Langone. Dad and Aai are with us during our first appointments to ask follow-up questions and throw out suggestions for medications or procedures. We try to keep up, but the conversation quickly becomes complex physician speak. Our parents ask follow up questions that I would have never thought of asking. I’ve never been more thankful to have parents who fulfilled the Indian stereotype of studying medicine. The more we speak with our new doctors, Seema and I are thrilled to learn this group actually has bedside manner. They are nothing like the doctor who gave us the original diagnosis. They are patient, caring and empathetic. They become our Dream Team, a multi-headed beast with an expertise in Oncology, Radiology, and Chemotherapy. Seema is young. She is smart. She is beautiful. She has so much potential. I can feel the Dream Team pulling for her. They want her to beat this just as much as I do. I didn’t think that was possible, but I accept it with open arms. As we schedule and await Seema’s first scans that will indicate the severity of the cancer, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the flood of uncertainties about our future. I thought I had everything planned out. I recently quit my strenuous job as a creative director at a successful advertising agency with plans to freelance as a hired creative gun. Seema just graduated NYU Law School and had the entire summer free before we moved back to Los Angeles and she started a job at the prestigious law firm Skadden Arps. With our newfound flexible schedules and free time we were going to do novel things like eat dinner together. We would finally have time to enjoy New York City with each other and the friends we love. Seema would explore fashion and intern with a designer. I would read the 400 books I’ve ordered on Amazon over the past year but have never read. We would travel and explore the world together. I would work out more. I would do yoga. I would meditate. I would learn Muay Thai. We would get a dog. We would name him Huck. I would do stand-up comedy. I would write movie scripts with Seema and my friends. We would make films. We would get into Sundance. We would all become famous and buy adjacent farms in rural Georgia. We would volunteer for causes we believe in and would eventually win a Nobel Peace Prize and a Congressional Medal of Freedom. Seema and I would attend a State Dinner with Barack and Michelle. I’d make an off-the-cuff joke about Joakim Noah’s hair to the President. He’d think I’m hilarious and would eventually quote me in his final State of the Union. Cancer has other plans. All our dreams take a backseat as we are forced to deal with our new reality. I feel like we’ve been cheated out of a unique window of time we carved out to enjoy life to the fullest before Seema begins her law career. Instead, we are on the phone with NYU trying to figure out the exact date Seema’s student health insurance will expire. In addition to uncertainties about Seema’s health, uncertainties about our future, family, and careers constantly drift in and out of my everyday thoughts. Dwelling on all of these uncertainties will slowly drive me insane. I know this. So I search desperately for something, anything, to distract myself. Seema distracts herself by diving into the prose of Junot Diaz and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Since Johnny Walker has proven himself to be an unpredictable asshole, I bury myself in the 2014 NBA Finals instead. I bury myself with a fanaticism normally reserved for televangelists and NYSE floor traders. The Finals are already a highly anticipated series, a rematch from the previous year between the two-time defending champion Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. I remember watching last year. The Spurs were thirty seconds away from winning the Championship. The Larry O’Brien trophy and velvet ropes were brought out. The Spurs were ready to pop the champagne. Then the Heat went on an improbable run, punctuated by a Ray Allen corner three that sent the game into overtime where the Spurs lost. The Heat emphatically closed out Game 7 in Miami and won the Championship. The close-up of the Spurs bench in the final minutes of Game 7 told a story of combined shock and devastation that I now know all too well. How quickly things slip away… A year later, the basketball stars have aligned perfectly for a rematch. On one hand you have the Heat, trying to achieve a threepeat which would propel Lebron into the next level of the NBA’s Mount Olympus and give more fodder for the pointless “Lebron vs. Jordan” debate. Then there are the Spurs. They are old, banged up, and have a lot mileage. But despite their age, they have been rebuilt into a fast-paced, well-oiled, small-ball machine by the loveable curmudgeon, Coach Popovich. Like 99.7% of human beings, I don’t like the Heat. I didn’t like Lebron leaving Cleveland. I didn’t like his smug assumption of winning 7 straight Championships. I don’t like Heat fans. I don’t like DJ Khaled. I don’t like Gloria Estefan. I’m not a Spurs fan by any means. But the week after the diagnosis, the NBA Finals becomes something completely different for me. This has moved beyond a battle of villains, heroes, rings, legacies, pundits, fan bases and statistics. I need the Spurs to win. I need to know that it’s possible to rebound from a horrific, soul-crushing loss and return stronger, more focused, and triumph. The fact that our lives share nothing in common with NBA athletes doesn’t matter. I need to see a comeback. As the day of Seema’s first scan arrives, however, things are already looking bleak for the Spurs. The teams have split the first two games in San Antonio. The series shifts to Miami and the Spurs are already in a hole. The Heat have stolen home court advantage and no team has beaten Miami on their home court in the Playoffs. I pace our apartment, religiously refreshing Twitter and watching ESPN analysis searching for any kind of Spurs advantage. I watch and loudly narrate Youtube highlights from the previous years Finals analyzing weaknesses in the Miami offense. Seema alternates between tracking my pacing around the room and continuing to read Americanah. When we drive to NYU Langone for her scan, I try not to think about the fast approaching Game 3 and the impeding uphill climb ahead for the Spurs and ourselves. The doctors allow me to be with Seema for the scans, so I sit with her as she changes into a hospital gown in a patient room in the lower levels of the hospital. Dad and Aai wait for us in the waiting room. Seema’s first scan is a PET-CT scan, which stands for Positron Emission Tomography – Computer Tomography Scan. It’s an advanced, nuclear imaging scanning technique that gives detailed information about cell structure. Seema is given orders to drink a viscous, white concoction. The drink contains barium sulfate, which acts like a tracer that helps doctors identify cancer cells on the scan. From its look and consistency, barium sulfate resembles a combination of chalk, buttermilk and elk semen. But luckily this particular bottle of barium sulfate is coffee flavored! Seema says the artificial flavor barely masks the awful taste. “This is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had in my life.” The grimace on Seema’s face makes it clear Starbucks is completely missing an opportunity to launch an Elk Semen Mocha Liquid Chalk Frappuccino. I hold Seema’s hand as she lays on the hospital gurney and is wheeled into the PET-CT room. The machine looks like a giant, immovable, beige donut that Seema must pass through. Seema scoots from the gurney to the flat slab that will slowly inch her through the scanning device. I stand next to my horizontal wife as doctors, nurses and technicians buzz around preparing the machine and optimizing equipment. As they speak to each other from across the room, it feels like we are preparing to send my wife through the portal in Stargate. I sense myself becoming more and more nervous about the scan and what the results will mean. My heart begins beating faster. I fear the cancer has spread everywhere, even to Seema’s soft earlobes. I think about ways to calm Seema. No need. Amongst the din of technician chatter and medical-speak, I hadn’t noticed Seema nonchalantly chatting to an attending physician about the most recent episode of The Bachelorette. They talk about the rose ceremony last week and a guy who apparently has been acting like “a real dickhead to Andi.” I marvel at my wife who is unfazed by the environment and the moment. I wonder if the scan results will also confirm the absence of fucks given towards the cancer that also resides within my wife’s body. The doctors tell us we need to clear the room so they can begin the scan. They close the vault-like door to protect us from the bombardment of radiation that will envelop my wife. We move to an adjacent room that is the medical equivalent of NASA’s Mission Control. There are so many different monitors, I’m not sure what to look at. I focus on a smaller screen that shows the video feed of the scan room. My wife who has been instructed to stay completely still for the scan to be accurate. Wrapped in multiple thin white blankets, she looks like a tiny, motionless mummy. As she is slowly inched through the Stargate, cross-sectional slices of my wife begin appearing on another screen. The doctors and technicians huddle around it and begin analyzing. I have no clue what the fuck is going on. As I look at my wife on the screen, I imagine Seema intaking Gamma radiation. Maybe like Bruce Banner, she will gain super powers that will immediately cure her and turn her into a stronger being with wondrous abilities. By day she will be a high-powered attorney, but at night she will fight crime on the streets of Brooklyn. When the scanning is complete, Seema appears to have no super powers (yet). She’s just thankful that she can scratch the itch on her knee that’s been bugging her the last hour. Seema, Aai, Dad and I wait for the results in a Radiology patient room. Since the other patient rooms are filled, we are put in a children’s patient room instead. We stare at the wallpaper of dinosaur illustrations as we wait. Dr. Schiff finally enters. He’s the Radiation Oncologist component of the Dream Team. His omnipresent bow-tie is complimented by the omnipresent stethoscope hanging around his neck. He has a walrus mustache that partially obscures a warm smile. Combined with his protruding belly, he reminds me of John Candy if John Candy was a world-renowned radio-oncologist. Dr. Schiff breaks down the scan for us. Luckily, we’ve caught the cancer early before it has the chance to spread to any other organs. He’s spoken to the rest of The Dream Team. There will be no hysterectomy. Instead, they want to pursue an aggressive regimen of radiation and chemo as well as an additional experimental trial of chemotherapy to help eradicate the cancer permanently. I like the word “eradicate.” I like that the doctors are using military terms when talking about fighting the cancer. I like that we are going to show the cancer no mercy. Seema tells me she is ready for a battle. She tells me she is ready for an uphill climb. I feel the same. When we leave the hospital, I feel like we’re slowly emerging from a fog of uncertainty. We finally have a few answers. We know what the enemy looks like and how we’re going to fight it. We watch the next two games of The NBA Finals at our apartment. I was worried with the Spurs losing home court advantage and going to Miami. But the Spurs are now playing as if home court advantage doesn’t matter. They play as if crowds don’t matter. The Spurs find another gear in Miami and begin playing some the best team basketball ever witnessed in the great game. Selfless and beautiful, fluid and precise, the Spurs proceed to put on a clinic and blow out the Heat in back-to-back games in Miami in some of the most lopsided victories ever seen in the NBA Finals. The series heads back to San Antonio, with the Spurs holding a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Spurs could clinch the Championship in Game 5. It’s almost a forgone conclusion given the kind of basketball that the Spurs have been playing. But sports are funny. Anything can happen. You can’t manufacture drama or momentum shifts. And as improbable as a total Spurs collapse could be, you remember the other teams and great players that choked and weren’t able to seal the deal. History is littered with examples of teams defying the odds, going off script and pulling off the impossible. Some friends invite us to watch Game 5 at a bar. Fuck that. I’m not switching up the sports feng shui of watching at home, which has obviously ensured the previous two Spurs’ wins. We need to keep the same energy going. Seema and I order some gyros and sit on our couch for tip-off. The Spurs start horribly, going 0-6 from the field. They are putting up brick after brick. Lebron, on the other hand, is flying around like a demigod. He throws down putback dunks. He drains long-range threes. He swats layups into the San Antonio bench. Five minutes into the game, the Heat lead 22 – 9. The once raucous San Antonio crowd is becoming more eerily quiet by the second. I knew we should’ve watched at the bar. My mind begins a slow downward spiral of dark thoughts. I see the chain of events that will unfold to rob Seema and me of our Spurs’ comeback inspiration: The Heat will win this game. The series goes back to Miami for Game 6. Miami home crowd advantage and another monster game from Lebron creates a momentum shift. The Spurs mental toughness begins to crack. In Game 7, Lebron plays the greatest game of his career. The Spurs choke and implode once again. The Heat and Lebron complete their threepeat. Confetti rains down from the sky as Lebron holds his Finals MVP trophy. Stephen A. Smith can barely contain his erection knowing hours of airtime on First Take can now be filled with Lebron vs. Jordan comparisons. As I see things falling apart for the Spurs, I see things falling apart for Seema’s health. Hope is fading for both. Ghosts of the Spurs’ collapse from the previous year begin to simultaneous haunt the AT&T Center and our apartment. Maybe some defeats are just too devastating to bounce back from. But then something magical happens. Spurs’ shooting guard Manu Ginobili checks into the game. He strides onto the court like a beautiful, balding, Argentinian unicorn. First possession in the game? Bang. Manu nails a three. Next possession? Bang. Manu finds Kawhi Leonard who knocks down another three. The Spurs are still down 12, but it’s a spark. Everything begins clicking for San Antonio. The team that was so dominant the last two games remembers who they are. They move the ball. Shots begin to fall. Defensive stops are made. The crowd gets back in the game. Suddenly the Spurs lead 37-35 In the Spurs’ doomed Finals the year before, Manu did not play well. He had a few too many costly turnovers and made a few too many poor decisions at the wrong times. But watching him play now, I can see he was exorcising his own demons and disappointments from the previous year. The moment that solidifies his redemption occurs in the final minutes of the 2nd quarter, when Manu transforms into an unbridled tempest of Rogaine and storms down the court. He blows by Ray Allen then throws down the mother of all dunks on Chris Bosh. The Spurs crowd collectively loses their shit. Across the globe, bald men in their late 30’s simultaneously feel more powerful without knowing why. Once the Ginobili dunk is thrown down, everyone watching now knows there is no way the Heat are going to win this game. But I continue to watch, even when the Spurs are up by 20 points. The inevitable feels too good to be true. Not until the black and silver confetti falls from the sky for the trophy ceremony do I feel like I can pull away from the screen. Seema, long since bored from the blowout, is in the kitchen drinking some tea while reading a book. I find her and squeeze her with a tight hug. She looks at me, a little concerned her husband has lost his mind. Maybe I did lose my mind for a brief moment. Maybe it’s stupid to be so emotionally invested in a sporting event that has no real relevance or ramifications to our lives. But this one did. Thank you, Manu Ginobili. I believe in comebacks.

A mere five years ago, I wrote a piece in the Jane's AWA foreword which mentioned, in passing, the Wrights having launched the age of aeroplane flight. I now believe I was wrong; and happy to admit to such, thanks to John's research [referring to this site's author, John Brown]. Forgive a self-congratulatory statement, but I wish that others were equally ready to admit that they have been wrong.... When John contacted me to ask whether I thought his researches would hold water, there were two challenges for me to address; two questions to be asked. First: “Was Whitehead’s aircraft capable of flight?” Second: “Did it fly?” []. Straight away, I was fascinated by the theory that a serious injustice had been done and that the history books needed to be re-written. I adopted an engineer's approach. Too many debates about Whitehead have been kicked into the 'long grass' by diversionary wrangling over whether this or that witness was reliable; ...could have been mistaken; ...had an axe to grind; ...was a liar/fantasist/attention-seeker, etc. And that entirely spurious "Where's the photograph?" argument. I chose, first, to look at the engineering facts: 1. Was Whitehead’s aircraft capable of flight? By 1900, the leading aviation pioneers possessed reasonably effective wings and propellers — not as efficient as today’s, but good enough to get them into the air and keep them there for a while. The problem was that they didn’t have engines light and powerful enough to propel their aircraft. Engine technology was holding the aeroplane back. Uniquely, however, Whitehead had the benefits of Otto Lilienthal’s aerodynamic experiments back home in Germany, and he was also skilled at making good engines, having trained with MAN in Germany. If any one person was first in a position to put together two main elements (reasonable wing and reasonable engine) needed for aeroplane flight, it was Whitehead. Also, making my decision even easier: a replica of the Whitehead aircraft has been built in recent years....and shown that it can fly. The Wrights executed a few short 'hops' in December 1903 with an aeroplane having a sophisticated wing and a 12 hp engine; Whitehead flew two years before in an aeroplane with an inferior wing, but 30 hp installed power to overcome that deficiency. Whitehead flew by brute force triumphing over aerodynamics, but there is nothing in the rules of 'coming first' that says you are not allowed to attack wallnuts with a sledgehammer. Therefore, on the engineering facts alone, I am professionally convinced that the Whitehead aircraft was capable of flight. 2. That changes the second, historical, question from “Did it fly?” to “How could it not have flown?” We know that Whitehead had a flyable aircraft. ...He was dedicating all his efforts to flying ...Newspaper articles (the first written by the Editor of the Bridgeport newspaper, who was present and saw with his own eyes) reported his flights on more than one occasion in 1901 and (a different aeroplane) 1902 ...In later years, 17 people made formal statements saying they saw him fly John's research completely destroys the previously accepted view, circulated by Orville Wright, that only one provincial newspaper took Whitehead seriously. Contrarywise, for a while, he was front-page news around the World and his work featured in learned journals such as The Scientific American and Aeronautical World. Bizarrely, the most convincing argument for Whitehead having flown first comes from Orville Wright. In 1945, the surviving Wright brother wrote in an aviation magazine about the “Whitehead Legend” — dismissing the man and his aircraft as not worthy of serious consideration. One can understand an old man like Wright wanting to make sure of his place in history, and one can accept that he might misinterpret a few facts in his own favour. Had Wright said, “My brother and I were first to fly, but we were lucky to be first because this man Whitehead also had a darn fine aircraft” then that might be, just, believable. However, as an aircraft engineer and designer himself, Orville knew full well that Whitehead’s Condor aircraft was a serious, flyable machine. Further, it beggars belief that he was so switched-off about the progress of aviation in 1900-03 that he missed the fact that Whitehead was flying a second, different aeroplane in 1902. Nonsense: He and his brother would have hung on to every word written and spoken about eveyone else trying to fly an aeroplane in those days -- and while they may have missed an edition of the Bridgeport Herald, is is not credible that they did not hear about it and also neglected flying articles in The Scientific American and the Aeronautical World. Orville deliberately and maliciously dismissed Whitehead's two aircraft and implied that any thoughts of them taking to the air were a joke. That sounds to me like a man desperately trying to bury some inconvenient facts. Thus, if flying were a crime, I would expect a jury to convict Whitehead on the circumstantial evidence alone. 

五輪3大会連続出場という不動のエースは、その愛らしさから「サオリン」という愛称でも親しまれる日本女子バレー界のアイドルだ。先のW杯では惜しくもリオ五輪出場切符をつかめなかったが、代表でもキャプテンを務める木村沙織（29）の存在感は際立つ。 「彼女を語るうえで外せないのが豊満なバストでしょう。ユニホームがピチッとているので、どうしても体の線が目立ってしまう。近年は試合会場の警備もしっかりしているので、バストを狙い撃ちした写真が撮影されて出回るようなこともなかったと思いますが‥‥」（スポーツ紙記者） しかし、推定Fカップの“はつらつ乳”を踏みにじる悪質なアニメーション動画が存在した。その名も「パンケイクス」。有志によって作られた、いわゆる“同人制作物”だ。1年ほど前よりネット上のダウンロードのみで売買されてきたが、先頃、一部ショップでDVD-ROM版までが発売され、マニア以外でも簡単に入手されるようになって波紋を広げている。 主人公は処女で巨乳、愛称が「カオリン」というショートカットのバレーボール選手。ポジション、身長なども木村と瓜二つだが、巨乳だけはデフォルメされてバレーボール大もある。 そんなカオリンがストーカーの毒牙にかかってしまうのだ。 木村が所属する「東レ・アローズ」に悪質な激似動画の存在について聞いてみたが、担当者は、 「知りませんでした」 と、絶句するばかりだった。

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Abortions are illegal in Northern Ireland except for cases where the woman's health is at risk The number of women from Northern Ireland travelling to England and Wales to have abortions rose by 192 in the past year. Government statistics showed 1,053 women travelled in 2018. However it is much lower than the peak year of 1990, when 1,855 NI women had abortions in England and Wales. In June 2017, the UK government announced women from Northern Ireland would be able to get free abortions on the NHS in England. Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland, except for cases where the woman's health is at risk. Women have been able to access free abortions through the NHS in Scotland from 2017 and in Wales from November 2018. Earlier this year it was revealed that fewer than 10 NI women had had terminations in Scotland since the Scottish Parliament changed the law. Anti-abortion group CARE, which campaigns against a change to abortion law in Northern Ireland, said it was disappointing to see a rise in the number of women travelling to England and Wales. Chief executive Nola Leach said: "The wider context is really important and NI's abortion rate is still significantly lower than England and Wales." Amnesty International's Northern Ireland campaigns manager, Gráinne Teggart, said the increase was unsurprising. The organisation wants abortion law in Northern Ireland to be reformed. She said: "The ongoing near-total ban on abortion doesn't stop women needing or seeking abortions, it just forces them to board planes to access the healthcare. "Women should be treated with respect and dignity and given the right to make choices about their own body at home." The figures for England and Wales, released on Thursday, showed Northern Ireland women represented 22% of non-residents who travelled to the two countries for abortions. Women from the Republic of Ireland made up 61% of the total. Abortion law was liberalised in the Republic of Ireland in late 2018 following a referendum earlier the same year.

Who Charted? #249.5 On this week’s Two Charted, Howard explains why garbage trucks are against mankind, why the subtext of the NFL is the most interesting part, and why you should never watch a music video prior to hearing the song on it’s own.

Lanette Holmes had grown accustomed to waiting for her husband, Shabaka Shakur. He had spent the past 27 years in prison for a murder he insisted he did not commit, based largely on a confession that a judge ruled last week bore a “reasonable probability” of having been fabricated by a detective now accused of using rogue tactics to make his cases. Her wait ended early Monday, after a judge ordered a new trial for Mr. Shakur, and the Brooklyn district attorney’s office moved to dismiss the indictment against him. Although the judge last Thursday ordered that Mr. Shakur be released, a clerical blunder delayed his freedom and kept him in the Shawagunk Correctional Facility over the weekend. “I wanted to climb over that gate to get him,” Ms. Holmes said. However belated and simple, the meal of roast turkey and French fries that the couple shared at the Alexis Diner in Newburgh for lunch on Monday was a celebration of the life Mr. Shakur had imagined every day he spent behind bars. In 1989, a jury found Mr. Shakur guilty of a double homicide based on evidence amassed by a now retired detective, Louis Scarcella, whose credibility and investigative methodology were called into question in a 2013 examination by The New York Times.

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20th Century Fox A typical day in the office for a planetary protection officer isn’t this exciting. NASA is hiring a planetary protection officer with a salary of up to $US187,000. The job was created after the signing of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Planetary protection officers are hired to make sure humans don’t contaminate planets, moons, and other objects in space. They’re also supposed to help prevent any alien microbes that might exist from spreading to Earth. US government scientists work hard to protect the public. Some researchers study infectious diseases and effective treatments. Others ensure that drugs, food, vehicles, or consumer products live up to their claims and don’t harm anyone. But the concerns over at NASA headquarters are, quite literally, extraterrestrial — which is why the space agency now has a job opening for “planetary protection officer.” The gig? Help defend planet Earth from alien contamination, and also help Earth not contaminate alien worlds that it’s trying to explore. The pay? A six-figure salary ranging from $US124,406 to $US187,000 per year, plus benefits, for three to five years. A rare and cosmically important position While many space agencies hire planetary protection officers, they’re often shared or part-time roles. In fact, only two such full-time roles exist in the world: One at NASA and the other at the European Space Agency. That’s according to Catharine A. Conley, NASA’s current and sole planetary protection officer, whom Business Insider has interviewed a couple of times, most recently in March. (Conley and NASA did not immediately respond to our latest questions about her employment status and the open position.) The job was created after the US signed and ratified the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, and it specifically relates to article IX of the document: “States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose.” As part of the international agreement’s creation, its makers decided that any space mission must have less than a 1-in-10,000 chance of contaminating an alien world. “It’s a moderate level,” Conley previously said. “It’s not extremely careful, but it’s not extremely lax.” This is why NASA’s planetary protection officer occasionally gets to travel to space centres around the world and analyse planet-bound robots. The officer helps ensure that we don’t accidentally contaminate a pristine world that a probe is landing on or, more often, is zooming by and taking pictures of. For example, Congress and the president have green-lighted NASA to explore Europa: an icy, ocean-hiding, and potentially habitable moon of Jupiter. The goal of the initial $US2.7 billion Europa Clipper mission is not to land on the moon, though, but to map its surface and look for clues about its hidden ocean and habitability. Still, there’s a chance the robot could crash-land — and that’s where someone like Conley comes in to mitigate risk. The concern also works the other way, most imminently for Mars. ESO/M. Kornmesser An illustration of Mars’ ancient oceans. The red planet is a frequent target for NASA because it’s oddly similar to Earth. It may have once been covered in water and able to support life, which is why many scientists are pushing hard for a Mars sample return mission, ostensibly to seek out signs of aliens. While the expectation is not to scoop up freeze-dried Martian microbes — only ancient, microscopic fossils — there’s always the chance of an active contamination once those samples hit earthbound labs. Again, this is where the planetary protection officer and her team come in: They help establish the equipment, protocols, and procedures to reduce such risks. “The phrase that we use is, ‘Break the chain of contact with Mars,'” Conley previously said of her work on such efforts. No one ever said defending Earth had to be glorious all of the time, though; Conley said a typical week mostly involves a lot of emails and reading studies, proposals, and other materials. Who qualifies as a candidate An out-of-this-world job like Conley’s requires some equally extraordinary qualifications. A candidate must have at least one year of experience as a top-level civilian government employee, plus be an expert in “advanced knowledge” of planetary protection and all that it entails. NASA/JPL-Caltech This artist’s rendering shows a concept for a future NASA mission to Europa in which a spacecraft would make multiple close flybys of the icy Jovian moon, thought to contain a global subsurface ocean. If you don’t have “demonstrated experience planning, executing, or overseeing elements of space programs of national significance,” then you may be wasting your time by submitting an application. The job involves a lot of international coordination — space exploration is expensive and the costs are frequently shared by multiple nations — so NASA needs someone with “demonstrated skills in diplomacy that resulted in win-win solutions during extremely difficult and complex multilateral discussions.” Did we mention the advanced degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics? You should have that on your resume, too. The job comes with a “secret” security clearance, and noncitizens aren’t technically allowed to apply. (That rule is thanks to an executive order signed by former President Gerald R. Ford in 1976.) Applications will be accepted through USAJobs.gov from July 13 through August 14. Kelly Dickerson contributed reporting to this story. Business Insider Emails & Alerts Site highlights each day to your inbox. Email Address Join Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Spread the love Grand Rapids, MI — Dramatic body camera footage released this week shows a Grand Rapids Police Officer holding the muzzle of his AR-15 rifle to the head of an unarmed man who was subdued, in a seeming attempt to torment him. On Tuesday, after they investigated themselves, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said—in spite of the glaring violation of rights caught on video—no charges will be filed against the officer. “Placing the barrel of a gun on the head of a suspect being arrested is completely inappropriate, offensive, and against any training protocol put out by the Grand Rapids Police Department or any other department in Kent County,” Becker said in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 3. However, despite the officer’s actions being all those things, he will not face any legal consequences. The incident happened on August 19 and appeared to be a case of mistaken identity. That night, officers were responding to a call of an alleged armed robbery and when they showed up they saw a 28-year-old homeless man who fit the description. According to the report, the man was drunk and refused to cooperate by lowering and raising his hands. So, Sgt. Neil Gomez then deployed his taser and the man was immediately brought to the ground. From this point forward, it should’ve been a simple procedure: place him and handcuffs and determine that he is not the man they are looking for. However, that is not what happened. Instead, Officer Kevin Penn—seemingly drunk on his sadistic authority—began digging the muzzle of his rifle into the suspects head, tormenting him physically and verbally. “Former Officer Penn took it one step further,” Becker wrote. “He put the barrel of his gun to the suspect’s head. … He indicated to investigators when interviewed he felt he had to place the gun there for fear of possibly hitting the other officers due to close proximity if he did have to fire, and to try and control the individual’s head as he was not complying with commands. This once again is nothing police are trained in, nor something that an officer is supposed to do, but the behavior does not rise to the level of a criminal offense under this set of facts.” When watching the video, the idea that this officer’s behavior does not rise to a criminal offense is as insulting as it is asinine. “The suspect makes a crying noise, and states, ‘That hurts bro,’ and Officer Penn immediately responds with, ‘Yes it does,'” according to an Internal Affairs report, obtained by MLive under a Freedom of Information request. “The muzzle is still pressed against the suspect’s head and Officer (James) Smith tells Officer Penn, ‘All right Kevin’ and pushes the rifle away from the suspect’s head with his head,” an Internal Affairs report said. “As Officer Penn moves back, the suspect continues asking what he did and states, ‘Man, that hurted man. …'” The report stated and the video confirmed that the muzzle of the rifle was used to force the suspect’s head down. Luckily Penn did not kill the otherwise entirely innocent man. The suspect was then arrested on the standard ‘resisting arrest’ charges and later released on his own recognizance. Because he was drunk, the suspect did not remember the incident, which is likely the reason he never filed a complaint. However, after the release of this video, all that may change once an attorney sees the possibility of such an open and shut case. “We do not condone the behavior of the officer, nor should this been seen as approval for this technique in the future,” Becker wrote. “It is simply under these specific facts we are not charging the former officer … .” The silver lining to this incident is, although Penn was allowed to resign without charges, he was at least caught because good cops saw his actions and reported him. Spread the love Sponsored Content:

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The three teenage girls — shy and even seeming slightly embarrassed as they peer out from their Islamic head scarves — do not look much like a heavy metal band. But a dramatic change occurs when they take the stage. All pretense of shyness or awkwardness evaporates as the group — two 17-year-olds and one 15-year-old — begin hammering away at bass, guitar and drums to create a joyous, youthful racket. They are Voice of Baceprot, a rising band in Indonesia, a country where heavy metal is popular enough that the president is an avowed fan of bands like Metallica and Megadeth. But beyond blowing away local audiences with their banging music, the three girls are also challenging entrenched stereotypes about gender and religious norms in the world’s most-populous Muslim-majority nation.

Jason Edward Harrington is a writer and MFA candidate in the creative writing program at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Follow him on Twitter @Jas0nHarringt0n. I recently had a bad flashback. I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep when I was hit with a vivid memory from my time as a Transportation Security Administration officer at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. It was 2008, and I was conducting a bag check when three of my TSA colleagues got into an argument with a passenger at the checkpoint. Things got pretty heated. The subject of debate? Whether mashed potatoes were a liquid or a solid. In the end, of course, the TSA agents had the last word: Since the potatoes took the shape of their container, they were determined to be a liquid—specifically, a gel. That’s the official TSA line. “Liquids, aerosols and gels over 3.4 ounces cannot be brought through security.” The potatoes were forcibly surrendered. If you’re anything like me, you may have thought, “Well, mashed potatoes are technically gelatinous, so…”—which sends one down the rabbit hole of bureaucratic absurdity that ends with a passenger looking a TSA officer in the eye and saying, “Do you really think my mashed potatoes are a terrorist threat?” And the officer, if he or she is just an all-around tool, saying: “Ma’am, possibly. Rules are rules.” I’ve had a lot of flashbacks lately—nearly buried memories that have come flooding back ever since Politico Magazine published “ Dear America, I Saw You Naked,” my first-person account of working for the TSA and anonymously blogging about my adventures in airport security. Another one: It’s 2010, and a passenger is trying to bring her live goldfish through security. One of my co-workers informs her that the fish can go through but the water cannot. The woman is on the verge of tears when a supervisor steps in to save the fish’s life. And another: Working alongside a screener who always demanded that pacifiers be removed from infants’ mouths and submitted for X-ray screening before the babies and their mothers were permitted to pass through the metal detectors. Perhaps the biggest surprise to come out of what I now see as the life-changing experience of having my story go viral is the realization of just how much I still have left to tell about my six years at the TSA—the strange checkpoint happenings, the colorful passengers and the outrageous, real-life TSA characters. Americans took my initial report as confirmation of what they always dreaded about a humiliating experience so many millions of them had shared. But I also realized that there was a part of the story I hadn’t fully told: about a government agency and its leaders, and how they came up with the absurd policies that turned me and my colleagues into just-following-orders Mashed Potato Police. *** Soon after the article went up on the Politico website, I sent a note to my editor marveling at the fact that I had 30 new Twitter followers, up from a grand total of 240. I’d thought my article would get passed around in government and civil-liberties circles—a curiosity story of an anonymous TSA blogger unmasking himself, and that would be it. Little did I know that within a few hours I’d be getting an average of three emails a minute—in the middle of the night—including interview requests from Good Morning America, Today, NBC Nightly News, The Kelly File and many others. And while my 30 new followers had at first seemed like a big deal, a few days later I had more than 5,000. Stephen Colbert even joked about my story. Stephen Colbert! I got more emails in response to the article than I had in my entire year and a half writing my blog, Taking Sense Away, even when I revealed on the blog that the “nude” scanners didn’t work and that TSA employees were making predictably awful jokes about passengers’ bodies. I got only one piece of hate mail in response to my Politico Magazine article: an anonymous message that informed me that I was a “goon” because, it said, “Once a TSA goon, always a TSA goon.” A few people did reach out to warn me that I am almost certainly being monitored by intelligence agencies now that I have revealed myself as a critic of the TSA. “My ex-husband is now a senior executive at the NSA at Fort Meade,” one said. “The NSA will probably track you.” I’m not sure how credible these warnings are, but after being the subject of two official government responses—in which TSA denied and downplayed the claims made on my blog and in my essay—it’s hard not to worry that I’m being watched. I’ve received so many letters making this point that I now take it for granted that my every online move is being monitored by someone, somewhere. If the truth is more banal, so be it: I’d much rather be paranoid and wrong. Most of the responses from current and former TSA employees were just as supportive as those from the general public—and that was another surprise. Quite a few read like letters from inmates: “Hi Jason. Remember me? We worked Terminal 1 together for a year-long bid. I am so glad you made it out and are doing something interesting with your life! Patting down crotches all day was the worst, wasn’t it?” But some TSA employees saw my essay as an attempt to smear frontline workers. They were angry that I seemed to place responsibility for the agency’s problems squarely on the shoulders of low-ranking employees, rather than focusing on upper management and underlying organizational problems. That was the argument in the email that gave me the most pause, a note from one of my former co-workers at O’Hare: “Obviously, TSA is not my dream job,” it said. “Sometimes I go home crying. I’d love it if you wrote more about the incompetency of the managers who got their jobs because of who they know. What you did will definitely make my job harder, because who will be attacked? Every worker on the floor in a uniform. Am I angry? No. But write more. Tell about those unqualified managers who take no part in the checkpoint operation, and who humiliate their workers. I know you’ve seen it all. Tell them.” It’s an important point, and in fact that was my goal in launching my blog while still working on the TSA payroll: to call attention to the agency’s systemic flaws, while also defending the good, hardworking members of the nearly 50,000-deep frontline TSA workforce. The agency was the product of a panicked national moment—fertile soil for poor decision-making—and irrationality was etched into the TSA’s DNA. Like most passengers, the average screener regrets the atmosphere of “permanent emergency” that has permeated airport checkpoints since 9/11,a reactionary culture passed down from TSA leadership year after year. And yet the most common concerns among TSA screeners usually stem from organizational flaws closer to the checkpoint floor. *** One of the agency’s biggest problems is its arbitrary promotion system, which is also the source of a lot of outrage in letters I’ve gotten from current and former TSA workers. I saw signs of rampant cronyism and favoritism at O’Hare while I was there, and the emails I’ve received from around the country contain similar observations. And it’s not just me seeing this: Last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced it would launch an investigation after a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report found “rampant” favoritism at the TSA. The second most common cause for complaint that I’ve heard from floor-level employees is the yearly re-certification system. While I was there, an officer's suitability for his or her job was determined in large part by a two-hour test administered once a year, in which a TSA screener was put before two clipboard-wielding test administrators and observed while giving patdowns and doing bag searches on test subjects. In practice, this meant that screeners who were rude to co-workers and passengers or just generally incompetent but had made it through their probationary period could hang onto their jobs by learning to work the system. All they had to do was give a convincing two-hour performance once a year—their conduct the rest of the time carried relatively little weight. I personally experienced the absurdity of the TSA’s certification bureaucracy when I was informed one day—more than two years after I’d been hired, and after having checked thousands of driver’s licenses and passports—that I was not on-record as having ever received travel-document training from the TSA. Apparently, my certification papers had been lost, so I was pulled off the travel-document checking position on the spot and de-certified until I took the training class again. “So does this mean,” I asked my supervisor, “that all the passports and driver’s licenses that I’ve cleared through security over the past two years have been security breaches?” “Let’s not think about that,” my supervisor said. *** Coming out from anonymity has allowed me to take part in trying to change the TSA: I was contacted by a staffer for Sen. Tom Coburn, the ranking member on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, and the watchdog group Judicial Watch, which asked me to help in an investigation of assault and molestation claims against the TSA. I told Judicial Watch everything I knew about how complaints are handled at TSA checkpoints, including that the yellow complaint cards passengers are given to voice their concerns are widely regarded as a joke by TSA supervisors. “Rarely does anyone actually read those” was something I heard all the time. I also signed a declaration for blogger and civil liberties activist Jonathan Corbett’s ongoing lawsuit against the TSA over its use of the body scanners, swearing that everything in my essay about the agency was true so that he could submit it as evidence. He had a 24-hour deadline; if I’d had more time I would have added a statement describing how I had repeatedly witnessed TSA breaking its promise to the public that the screeners who reviewed the full-body scanner images would never come face-to-face with the passengers whose naked bodies they’d just seen. In a few places around the Internet, I’ve found my name and Edward Snowden’s mentioned in the same sentence—in one case framed as “Jason Harrington is no Edward Snowden.” But let’s be clear: I never fancied my crotch-patting tales to be on par with revelations of top-secret global surveillance programs. One thing I wrote—my very first blog post, which informed the public that many TSA employees felt the radiation-emitting Rapiscan imagers were ineffective, and that the TSA tried to work around the machines’ inherent flaws with secret directives involving additional patdowns—qualified as a whistleblowing act. Other than that, I’ve mostly just been telling stories of public interest. That doesn’t mean I don’t consider some of what the TSA has been doing the last few years scandalous; I do. Perhaps the most egregious waste of money at the agency right now is the SPOT program, in which “Behavior Detection Officers” are supposed to read people’s body language in order to identify would-be terrorists. A decade in, we’ve now spent a billion dollars on the program despite the fact that it’s based on pseudoscience that has been debunked in one study after another, and there’s no proof it has turned up even one terrorist threat. Many of the Behavior Detection Officers I knew at O’Hare privately admitted that their program amounted to a lot of walking around all day getting paid a lot of money for doing nothing. I used to hear all the time from both passengers and TSA agents that airport security would make great fodder for a TV show or book. Since my essay was published, I’ve heard from agents and producers who share that sentiment, and I recently signed with a literary agent. With any luck, my true TSA stories will be bound for bookshelves soon. One of the most common questions I get now is: “Do you get extra screening when you fly these days?” I haven’t flown since my essay was published, but I will soon. Then again, there’s a train that can get me to New York. It may take 16 hours longer, but sleeper cars are kind of nice, and besides, the nation’s railways are relatively clear of the Transportation Security Administration. For now.

‘’’Shola was called up to give his speech. He was fully prepared for this great occasion but he was scared. He wondered how he would face the crowd and say all what he had in his mind; he wondered how he was going to face this crowd that had supported him all through his open campaign to tell them the actions he is going to take if he wins the election. As he moved towards the podium, he heard his name from all the corners of the hall, even his opponents were intimidated from the shouting they heard. On getting to the stage he started his presentation well, but as time went on he started shaking, he forgot all what he had rehearsed a thousand and one times. His close friends realised this and intensified their shouting, they understood that shola knew what to say but his weakness was starting to overpower him again. Shola started stammering and after a while had to step down with his head bowed down in shame. All the remaining contestants were not as competent as shola, but they were able to boldly present the ideas they had within them conveniently, convincing people to join their train and support them. Shola lost the Election not because he was not PREPARED or CAPABLE but because he lacked CONFIDENCE.’’ WHAT IS CONFIDENCE? Confidence has different meaning due to the different perspectives it can be viewed from Confidence is the belief that you are able to do things well enough to your expectation. Confidence is you believing in your ability or power. confidence is knowing within you that you are capable of delivering quality performance and understanding that you can further learn how to improve on that quality performance. confidence is knowing that you can make a difference, that you can learn how to influence situations positively, manage relationships with people and faithfully earn the respect of others. confidence is not the feeling that you think you are better than others, but a feeling that you can be better than your current position and status. Confidence is all about finding out your strengths, noting down your weakness and using these strengths positively to your advantage while developing your weakness. confidence is understanding that you have the attributes that make people attached to you, respect you, trust you and that you are charismatic enough to make people always value you and want to learn from you. Confidence mean to put one’s trust in someone completely. Confidence could also mean believing in a spiritual being. Confidence is knowing within you that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF LACK OF CONFIDENCE? It has however been noted that lack of self confidence could be as a result of; Physical Disability such as diseases like epilepsy or Sickle-cell anemia or not being able to use part of the body well like the eyes, leg, nose or hear, Negative life events like failing an examination, losing a job, losing someone close. Fear of failure and rejection. Inability to identify oneself and discover ones purpose in life. Always listening to what others say. Setting plans, vision and goals that are not realistic. Focusing more on your weakness than your strengths. Appearance such as body smells and dress sense. Always wanting to be perfect. Ignorance. Lack of relevant knowledge is a source of ignorance. Body shape such as Obesity or too lean. Moving with the wrong set of people. The vision killers and confidence busters. Inability to move on from the past. Financial constraint. Upbringing of the child by both the parent and the teacher. Training given to children by those taking care of them goes a long way to building their confidence. Some instill fear into them, while some encourage boldness. This is just the beginning; The article would be continued in the next edition of SEA PUBLICATIONS. Ensure you don’t miss it. THIS ARTICLE WAS MADE AVAILABLE FROM SEA PUBLICATIONS FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST. written by ADENIKE TEMITOPE OWOLABI

FOOD ALLERGY NUMBERS FOOD ALLERGY NUMBERS Enlarge Photodisc About one in 25 Americans, or more than 12 million, have food allergies, according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. More food allergy facts from the network: About 7 million Americans are allergic to seafood; 3.3 million are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, such as walnuts, almonds and pecans. Eight foods account for 90% of allergic reactions to food in the USA: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish. Anaphylaxis, a serious allergic reaction that comes on quickly, caused by food kills up to 150 Americans each year and sends 50,000 to the emergency room. DAILY HEALTH BLOG DAILY HEALTH BLOG Get wellness tips, medical study roundups and news for healthy living here, including info on ... • Fitness and nutrition • Parenting/kids' health • Watercooler-worthy bits Medical researchers appear to be one step closer to conquering potentially deadly peanut allergies. At a scientific meeting this week, they're reporting on an experimental treatment that has freed a small number of children from their allergies. More than 3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, such as walnuts, and, for reasons that aren't clear, the number seems to be rising. About half of the 150 deaths caused by food allergies in the USA each year are caused by peanut allergies. FOOD ALLERGIES: On the rise for kids BETTER LIFE: Allergy studies in the news Only 20% of children with peanut allergies outgrow them. The rest must stay vigilant, bringing their own food to parties and avoiding restaurants if they can't be sure the menu is "peanut-safe." An allergic response usually strikes within minutes of exposure. The new therapy works similarly to allergy shots, which haven't proved safe against food allergies. Exposure to increasing amounts of peanut flour gradually builds up tolerance. Blood tests show that the immune system begins to ignore the peanut flour instead of attacking it. Children start with the lowest dose of peanut flour they can take without a reaction — just one one-thousandth of a peanut in some cases, says Wesley Burks, chief of pediatric allergy at Duke University. Duke is collaborating on the research with the Arkansas Children's Hospital. The children go home with precisely measured daily doses for two weeks and then return for tests and two weeks of slightly larger doses to be mixed in food. In one study, subjects ate flour equal to 15 peanuts a day after eight to 10 months of this. Nine of 33 have or had been on that maintenance dose for 2½ years. After "challenges" in which they were asked to eat peanuts, four of the nine were declared ready to stop treatment. For now, at least, those four still must eat peanuts every day. Other studies have shown that "as long as you keep something in your diet, your tolerance stays," Burks says. He cautions that the treatment shouldn't be tried outside a research study in which subjects are closely monitored. The researchers also are conducting a trial in which 10 children were randomly assigned to get either peanut flour or a placebo flour. After a year, all five who had been getting peanut flour could tolerate a challenge of about 13 peanuts; those on placebo could tolerate only one peanut. "Within the next five years, I think we're going to have some active therapy for food allergy," says Burk's collaborator, Stacie Jones of Arkansas Children's Hospital. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more

Tampons and pads will no longer be subjected to a 10 per cent tax from New Year's Day. The federal government on Monday signed the determination that will remove the GST on feminine hygiene products from January 1 following public consultation. Items that will be GST-free include tampons, disposable and reusable menstrual pads, menstrual cups, panty liners and period or leak-proof underwear. It comes three months after the states and territories unanimously agreed to ditch the tax on women's products, despite the expected $30 million cost a year.

sweeney.jpg New Jersey state Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, center (D-West Deptford) answers a question as he stands with union members, June 9, in Trenton. Earlier that day, the New Jersey Supreme Court sided with Gov. Chris Christie in a fight with public worker unions over pension funds. New Jersey's top court overturned (5-2) a lower-court judge's order that told the Republican governor and the Democratic-controlled Legislature to work out a way to increase pension contributions for the current fiscal year. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, file photo) Recent protests at State Senate President Steve Sweeney's West Deptford home has sparked a new municipal ordinance introduced Wednesday, according to Philly.com. West Deptford's Township Committee moved to ban picketing within 100 feet of a residential home and limit demonstrations to 10 people for one hour every two weeks. Twice this month picketers gathered in front of Sweeney's home to protest over the murder of Carol Bowne in Berlin. At left, Carol Bowne, 39, who was fatally stabbed outside her Berlin home late Wednesday. Right, Michael Eitel, 45, an ex-boyfriend of Bowne's, who had been sought in connection with the crime. He has been found dead. Bowne was stabbed multiple times by her ex-boyfriend Michael Eitel, who then killed himself in another ex-girlfriend's home early this month. She had applied on April 21 for a gun permit and had a restraining order against Eitel at the time of her death. Protestors blame gun control measures Sweeney supports for Bowne's failure to receive the gun permit she desired. West Deptford Republican Committeeman Jeff Hansen, who abstained from voting on the measure Wednesday, said he would like to see residents protected from being harassed at their homes, but wants to see that any measure put into place does not step on the First Amendment rights of protesters. "I think you really have to do the research and due diligence and hopefully we can make an educated decision," he said. Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.

Dear Spring community, It is my pleasure to announce that a feature-complete Spring Framework 4.3 release candidate is available now! This is a perfect opportunity for you to get involved: Please run your regression tests against it, and of course, feel free to try the new features… Dependency injection refinements: @Autowired injection of Map/Collection beans and self references @Autowired on configuration class constructors (finally!) No need for declaring @Autowired on a unique non-default constructor ObjectProvider as a richer variant of an ObjectFactory handle InjectionPoint/DependencyDescriptor as an injectable argument for @Bean methods MVC processing refinements: Default processing of OPTIONS, HEAD, Allow and If-Unmodified-Since Support for custom HTTP Vary configuration and HTTP Range on custom resources Precomposed @GetMapping, @PostMapping, @RequestScope, @SessionScope etc @RequestAttribute and @SessionAttribute as handler method arguments Full support for Jackson 2.7’s new type resolution algorithm Various infrastructural refinements across the framework: Wider support for composed annotations and for placeholders/expressions in attributes Richer programmatic metadata in core container exceptions Component scanning in manifest-defined classpath entries A background initialization option for bootstrapping JPA / Hibernate A ‘sync’ flag on @Cacheable and support for the Caffeine cache provider We are working towards an RC2 with some remaining fine-tuning and performance improvements in the meantime, preparing for 4.3’s general availability on June 1st! Cheers, Juergen

No flights, no tights. And for most of Smallville's 10 seasons, from 2001 to 2011, that's precisely what viewers got: Tom Welling's Clark Kent, learning to be a man, laying the groundwork for the hero he would become. Miles Millar and Alfred Gough had claimed millions of dollars in damages over the way WBTV handled financials on the long-running Superman series. At a status hearing on Monday, attorneys for Warner Bros. and Smallville co-creators/writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough announced they had resolved a dispute. Although the paperwork hasn't been fully signed by all the parties, an agreement in principle has been reached to end the lawsuit that contended that Warners had robbed the show's profit participants with sweetheart license-fee deals that the studio made with its sister TV networks. The lawsuit was one of the big ones that tested vertical integration in the entertainment industry. Filed in 2010, the lawsuit contended they were deprived of significant profits when WBTV allegedly undersold the series to affiliates the WB Network and then The CW instead of licensing the series to outside companies. Originally, the lawsuit also included Tollin/Robbins Productions, but that portion of the lawsuit was similarly settled this past January. The latest deal comes on the verge of a trial that was to be held in June. The plaintiffs were seeking more than $100 million in damages. Terms of the settlement aren't known. The plaintiffs were represented by the firm of Kinsella Weitzman, the defendants by O’Melveny & Myers.

La obligación para los comercios de aceptar pagos con tarjeta dispuesta por la AFIP fue una de las causas de su expansión (Shutterstock) La Argentina muestra avances en materia de inclusión financiera aunque también mucho camino por recorrer. La bancarización de las jubilaciones y planes sociales, la expansión de los medios electrónicos de pago y el uso de los canales digitales de atención apuntan en ese sentido, según el primer Informe de Inclusión Financiera publicado por el Banco Central. La principal paradoja consiste en la capacidad ociosa de los bancos argentinos surgida de que hay muchos clientes bancarios que, sencillamente, no saben que lo son. El informe asegura que un 80% de los argentinos adultos tiene una cuenta bancaria. Pero, a la vez, existe una “falta de percepción de esa tenencia por una gran parte de la sociedad” , ya que solo el 48% manifiesta poseer una cuenta. El desafío es hacer que aquellos que cobran un haber utilicen esa cuenta para otras funciones básicas (pagar servicios, transferir dinero) en lugar de retirar su dinero una vez al mes y vivir en efectivo. “Hay un tema de percepción. El 80% tiene un producto asignado pero solo el 49% es consciente de ello, el resto no lo sabe. En ese sector suelen ubicarse los beneficiarios de Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH) y otros beneficios sociales, que fueron bancarizados en los últimos años”, explicó el economista Ignacio Carballo, de la Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA). Un segundo desafío es que los que sí saben que tienen una cuenta, la utilicen más. “Dentro de ese 49%, 8 de cada 10 personas retira sus ingresos una vez por mes . Eso obedece a la desconfianza en el sector financiero que genera la incertidumbre constante de nuestra macroeconomía, pero también por los costos tributarios y la falta de educación financiera”, apuntó Carballo. La cantidad de cuentas bancarias registradas en la Argentina se asimila a países desarollados pero su uso todavía es escaso En materia de infraestructura, según el informe del BCRA la Argentina está en niveles similares a Brasil, México y Colombia en materia de cantidad de puntos de acceso (PDA), lo que incluye sucursales, cajeros y terminales de autoservicio. La gran diferencia está en los corresponsales bancarios, una figura extendida en otros países y muy reciente en la Argentina. Se trata de cadenas comerciales que pueden ofrecer servicios financieros (tarjetas, préstamos, etc.) como actividad secundaria, actuando por cuenta y orden de un banco. La normativa que autoriza esta figura existe hace solo un año y hasta el momento ha sumado solamente 30 puntos de acceso. Pero existen en el mercado muchas conversaciones en marcha que unen a bancos con recaudadoras y otras empresas para extender la distribución de sus productos. Hay expectativas en el BCRA en cuanto a que los corresponsales bancarios mejoren la capilaridad del sistema y ayuden a eliminar las fuertes diferencias regionales. Las provincias del norte, por caso, están por debajo del promedio. Los puntos de acceso (PDA) al sistema financiero (sucursales, cajeros) tienen fuerte variación en las distintas zonas del país Fomentar los canales digitales es otra forma de incrementar el alcance de los servicios financieros. La gratuidad de las transferencias electrónicas disparó su uso, que se incrementó de 1,5 operación por adulto en 2015 a 4 transferencias en 2018. El uso de tarjetas de crédito y débito también se elevó, en particular estas últimas luego de que la AFIP determinara la obligación para los comercios de aceptarlas. Otros factores que ayudaron a este fenómeno fueron la expansión de los pagos con código QR, la aparición de 900.000 POS móvil (ya superan a los fijos) y la aceptación de tarjetas de débito por parte de las recaudadoras extrabancarias (Rapipago, Pagofácil, etc.). Otros datos explican la capacidad ociosa del sistema y la subutilización de las redes existentes. Según el BCRA, del total de titulares de cuentas (cajas de ahorro o cuentas corrientes) que podría utilizar servicios de homebanking, solo el 35% llega a registrarse y el 24% los usa con frecuencia. En banca móvil, los porcentajes se reducen a 20% y 7%. El resto no utiliza estos sistemas, pese a que las cuentas para individuos son gratuitas. El Informe destaca el crecimiento de los puntos de extracción no bancarios. Estaciones de servicio, supermercados y otros comercios permiten retirar efectivo a la hora de comprar con tarjeta de débito. Ya existen 4.900 locales que lo ofrecen, que se suman a otros 3.500 de las recaudadoras. Hay 8.400 nuevas opciones para retirar efectivo, un número importante frente a los 16.000 cajeros automáticos que funcionan en el país. Los puntos de extracción de efectivo en cadenas comerciales (supermercados, estaciones de servicio, etc.) continúan creciendo No puede obviarse para el análisis de la inclusión financiera el rol de las fintech, si bien el informe no alude a ellas ya que el BCRA no las regula ni recopila su información. En los bancos suele decirse que su función inclusiva es limitada, ya que captan clientes ya bancarizados. Las fintech afirman lo contrario. “ No se puede decir que las fintech están captando a los no bancarizados porque no hay datos sobre sus clientes. Solamente tenemos relatos. Las más populares dicen que llegan a las personas excluidas de los bancos por aparecer en el Veraz. Pero no hay ningún estudio sobre eso. Si las fintech están haciendo inclusión financiera debieran mostrar datos concretos”, apuntó Carballo. “Por intuición, creo que no están yendo al excluido financiero sino al sub-bancarizado, aquel que tiene un producto pero la banca tradicional no lo satisface, por lo que acude a una fintech para tener un servicio más ágil,” agregó el experto. Ya sea a través de fintech o de bancos, la propia diversidad de la geografía argentina hace que los canales digitales sean más eficientes para hacer llegar los servicios a cualquier lugar y segmento social. “Los costos de acercar los servicios a través de sucursales o cajeros son mucho más amplios que hacerlo con canales digitales. Pero la inclusión financiera es más que facilitar el acceso, incluye también el uso, el bienestar y la calidad de los servicios,” concluyó Carballo. Las tarjetas de débito fueron el medio de pago con mayor expansión en los últimos años Por último, el informe del BCRA, que abarca los últimos cuatro años, afirma que “el acceso al crédito en el sistema financiero de la población adulta alcanzó un 51% de los adultos a marzo de 2019, avanzando cuatro puntos porcentuales desde diciembre 2015 . A lo largo del período, las financiaciones mediante tarjetas de crédito continuaron siendo el instrumento de financiación más difundido entre la población adulta (32%), mientras que en el otro extremo se encontraban los créditos hipotecarios (0,7%).” En materia de crédito para personas jurídicas, el informe establece que hasta agosto de 2018 “un 40% de las microempresas tenía una línea de crédito con el sistema financiero, mientras que un 52% de las mismas tomó algún financiamiento. En el caso de las empresas pequeñas y medianas, el 74% y 76% de las mismas, respectivamente, habían tomado algún tipo de financiamiento entre septiembre de 2017 y agosto de 2018 .” Seguí leyendo: El Banco Central mantuvo las tasas de interés y le negó el último favor a Alberto Fernández, que promete bajarlas BlackFriday 2019: 7 herramientas para comparar precios y ver las mejores ofertas

AP Giants running back Rashad Jennings isn’t the only NFC East player talking Super Bowl in April. Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was this year’s recipient of the Nancy Lieberman Lifetime Achievement Award given by the basketball Hall of Famer’s foundation and accepted the award at an event in Dallas last week. Romo’s speech was mostly about giving the same kind of help he’s received over the years to the kids supported by the foundation’s work, but he closed with a prediction that he’d be winning another prize early in 2016. “This award is very meaningful to me, mostly because I get to be associated with this and to be associated with Nancy,” Romo said, via the Dallas Morning News. “It’s incredible and I really appreciate you, and we’re going to win a Super Bowl next year. Thank you.” Predictions about the Super Bowl at this point are worth about as much as stock in a VCR manufacturer, but Romo and the Cowboys have plenty of reasons to feel good about themselves coming off of a 12-win season. Their passing game remains potent and they’re likely to add another back in the draft to run behind an offensive line that might be the best in football, which should lead to points on the scoreboard. If the draft can also turn up some defensive contributors, this year’s unit should look better equipped than the group that outperformed expectations in 2014. Saying that all adds up to Dallas’ sixth Super Bowl title is a stretch at this point, but it’s hard to blame Romo for feeling good about his chances.

Established in 1992 A Member of the Correct Craft Family SeaArk Boats has been in business since 1992 and joined the Correct Craft team in early 2016. Our team is comprised of over 150 men and women who know the importance of a well-built product — working together to create boats that will last a lifetime and provide families with many happy memories. All of our team members are part of our family and all are treated as such. We love working together to enrich our story and yours. Built for a Lifetime Originally owned by the McClendon family, SeaArk has a long tradition of building quality constructed all-welded aluminum boats. Currently, under the direction of company President Steve Henderson, SeaArk focuses on building over-built style boats in order to live up to our slogan “Built for a Lifetime”. SeaArk is well known for creating the World’s Largest Jon Boat in 1994 at 24 feet long and 72” wide. It has since upped the ante by creating a 26-foot jon boat. In addition to toting the title of World’s Largest Jon Boat, SeaArk Boats can also claim the title of the #1 Catfishing Boat. Since its introduction in 2009, the ProCat Series has been a top choice for cat fishermen all across the country. Designed specifically for the tournament angler the SeaArk ProCat can be seen more than any other boat on the catfish tournament scene. Sticking with the over-built style, SeaArk also has models available for bass, crappie, mud, bay, duck, and non-specific species. It also has a large lineup in the tunnel/jet tunnel and inboard market. There really isn’t anything a SeaArk can’t be used for. Allowing a semi-custom experience when purchasing and designing your boat is another added plus to owning a SeaArk. With a wide array of options and accessories, this makes it possible to fit the need of the customer exactly. Choosing SeaArk is choosing quality workmanship, personal customer service, and one of the best warranties offered in the aluminum boat industry.

The CBSE Class 10 results threw up more than one surprise with the pass percentage dropping by over 5 percent since 2016 and boys outperforming girls, a marked shift from previous batches New Delhi: The CBSE Class 10 results on Saturday threw up more than one surprise with the pass percentage dropping by over 5 percent since last year and boys outperforming girls, a marked shift from previous batches. The number of boys scoring the perfect 10 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) was also more than the number of girls this year, officials said. The pass percentage in the Central Board of Secondary Education's Class X result fell to 90.95 percent from 96.21 percent last year, registering a dip of 5.26 percent. However, the pass percentage of boys improved by a significant margin, jumping from last year's 78.9 percent to 93.4 percent; that of girls improved from 88.6 to 92.5 percent. Unlike recent years, boys have done better than girls by 0.9 percent. While 1,05,188 boys have scored a CGPA of 10, 1,00,950 girls have scored the perfect number. Trivandrum region has the highest pass percentage at 99.85, followed by Madras at 99.62 and Allahabad at 98.23 percent. Delhi fared badly, recording a pass percentage of 78.09 percent against last year's 91.06 per cent, a fall of 13.67 percent. CBSE announced the results of five regions — Delhi, Chennai, Dehradun, Trivandrum and Allahabad — at around noon. The results of the remaining five regions — Ajmer, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Guwahati and Patna — were announced towards the evening. Anxious students and parents had to wait as the board's website crashed half an hour before the result was scheduled to be declared due to heavy traffic. A total of 16,67,573 candidates from 16,347 schools had appeared for the exam at 3,972 centres across the country this year. This was the last batch appearing for the optional board examination for Class 10 with the CBSE restoring the compulsory examination from next year. On 28 May, the board had declared the results for Class 12 which had seen a dip of over one percent in the pass percentage.

It has been a tough couple of weeks for Catalonia’s independence movement. On February 10th, Jordi Pujol, the region’s former premier who is widely regarded as the godfather of modern-day Catalan nationalism, was questioned in the high court regarding a fortune he had kept hidden in tax havens. Meanwhile, the constitutional court provisionally suspended the Catalan government’s creation of its own foreign ministry – a predictable move, but one that highlighted the legal mechanisms Madrid is willing to use to thwart the secessionist drive. Away from the political arena there was a more human blow, with the death of Muriel Casals, a veteran pro-independence figure and deputy in the Catalan parliament. Those events have coincided with the opening stages of the implementation of a road map towards an independent Catalan state. For the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), an anti-capitalist party that is one of the prime movers in the independence project, a dream is being realised. “If we want to implement anti-capitalist politics, we need sovereignty,” Quim Arrufat, head of international relations for the CUP, told The Irish Times. “It’s not only about having a state – Greece is a state and it doesn’t have sovereignty. But a state is a first step.” CUP held the balance after a regional election in September which was treated as a plebiscite on independence. Junts pel Sí­ (Together for Yes), a separatist coalition, won, but fell short of a majority of seats in the Catalan parliament, its benchmark to push ahead with the plan to break from Spain. CUP, with 10 seats in the 135-seat chamber, agreed to support Junts pel Sí­ only if Artur Mas stepped aside as the regional premier and figurehead of the independence movement. After more than three months of stalemate, all sides eventually agreed on a new regional premier, Carles Puigdemont, whose swearing-in last month was the starting gun for the road map. Economy The Junts pel Sí­ coalition includes the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), which shares CUP’s position on many social and economic issues. The other main coalition member is Convergence, Mas’s centre-right nationalist party, responsible for privatizations and heavy spending cuts in recent years. “It’s an extraordinary situation – it isn’t normal,” said Arrufat. “It doesn’t happen in any other country: anti-capitalists agreeing on some points with Christian democrats because of a lack of sovereignty.” But Arrufat said his party was determined to see this marriage of convenience through. “We don’t agree with the political programme of the Catalan government on normal issues – we don’t need to,” he said. Instead, the partners in the independence drive are using the next year and a half to draw up laws allowing the creation of basic state structures, such as a Catalan tax authority and social security system. The plan then envisages another Catalan election being held, after which a constitution would be drawn up. Somewhere between six and 12 months later – in early or mid-2018 – that document would be put to a referendum and if approved, an independent republic of Catalonia would be declared. “The purpose of this Catalan government is not to implement normal political measures on normal issues but just to work for 18 months to build the structures [of state],” Arrufat said. “So maybe – probably – during these 18 months, there will be some aspects of the government we don’t like in terms of health or education.” Marta Pascal, a spokesperson for Convergence and deputy in the Catalan parliament, offers a similar interpretation of this peculiar alliance, highlighting the pragmatism needed to override any tensions. “When things are difficult in terms of ‘we’re so different and have different points of view’ and so on, we sometimes repeat this phrase: ‘We have to do it and we have to do it well,’” she said. “And of course CUP and us are different, but we have to find common points of view.” Despite their shared target of independence, the potential for discord over issues such as the 2016 budget, which is being prepared, or the future of BCN World, a planned and much-queried megaleisure hub, is substantial. CUP is all too aware of the power it holds. “We’re kingmakers and we have the right to bring down the government when we like and call new elections,” Arrufat said. The other major partner in the process, ERC, is playing a crucial role. Sergi Sabrià, an ERC deputy in the Catalan parliament, describes his party as “the glue” of the independence process. Banking Catalonia’s €68-billion debt is one area where ERC’s diplomacy is particularly needed, with the business-friendly Convergence determined to fulfil its financial obligations and CUP instinctively distrustful of the banking system. The compromise, for now, appears to be a debt audit. But besides policy, another thorny issue for the movement is the role of former premier Mas, who is being deployed to promote independence on the international stage. Arrufat’s description of him as “a wounded animal” hardly bodes well for the secessionist cause’s unity. Nor does the fact that Mas has bitterly attacked CUP in recent weeks. But for now, at least, even the anti-capitalists appears prepared to exploit the strengths of the urbane, media-savvy former premier. Despite the many challenges facing Catalan separatists, confidence is high, especially as they look to Madrid, where parties continue to wrangle over the formation of a new Spanish government, over two months after general elections. “I’m absolutely confident in the sense that we know the Catalan people have been dreaming of this in recent years,” said Convergence’s Marta Pascal, when asked if Catalonia will gain independence. But CUP’s Arrufat is more equivocal – and perhaps more realistic – about achieving independence and support for the movement. Having received only 48 per cent of the popular vote in September’s election-plebiscite, he says the independence cause needs “five or 10 per cent” more backing before achieving its goal.

We’ll soon know a few more details about the origin story of one of League of Legends’ most iconic champions thanks to a comic that will be co-created by Riot Games and Marvel Comics, the two companies announced early Monday morning. The comic will focus on Ashe, a white haired archer and leader of the largest tribe in the icy-frozen region known as the Freljord. The comic will be called League of Legends: Ashe: Warmother and will focus on the character's origin story. Beyond simply focusing on her origin story, Riot and Marvel didn’t give many details on what the actual story of the comic would be except saying that it would follow her from a fairly young age. Ashe was a natural choice to receive a comic tie-in thanks to her largely unexplored role within the game’s universe and the fact that she has featured so heavily in the game’s marketing on and off since its release almost a decade ago. The Ashe: Warmother will go on sale in May 2019 and will be written by Riot Games writer Odin Austin Shafer and will feature art work from Nina Vakueva, who previously worked on the series Heavy Vinyl.

Commission for ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can commission me here --> Hope you like it~I have an exams right now, so i just wasn't able to draw anything.. I'm sorry -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thousands of government papers detailing some of the most controversial episodes in 20th century British history have vanished after civil servants removed them from the country’s National Archives and then reported them as lost. Documents concerning the Falklands war, Northern Ireland’s Troubles and the infamous Zinoviev letter – in which MI6 officers plotted to bring about the downfall of the first Labour government – are all said to have been misplaced. Other missing files concern the British colonial administration in Palestine, tests on polio vaccines and long-running territorial disputes between the UK and Argentina. Almost 1,000 files, each thought to contain dozens of papers, are affected. In most instances the entire file is said to have been mislaid after being removed from public view at the archives and taken back to Whitehall. An entire file on the Zinoviev letter scandal is said to have been lost after home office civil servants took it away. The home office declined to say why it was taken or when or how it was lost. Nor would it say whether any copies had been made. In other instances, papers from within files have been carefully selected and taken away. Foreign office officials removed a small number of papers in 2015 from a file concerning the 1978 murder of Georgi Markov, a dissident Bulgarian journalist who died after being shot in the leg with a tiny pellet containing ricin while crossing Waterloo Bridge in central London. The foreign office subsequently told the national archives that the papers taken were nowhere to be found. After being questioned by the Guardian, it said it had managed to locate most of the papers and return them to the archives. A couple, however, are still missing. The foreign office declined to say why it had taken the papers, or whether it had copies. Other files the national archives has listed as “misplaced while on loan to government department” include one concerning the activities of the Communist Party of Great Britain at the height of the cold war; another detailing the way in which the British government took possession of Russian government funds held in British banks after the 1917 revolution; an assessment for government ministers on the security situation in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s; and three files about defence agreements between the UK and newly independent Malaya in the late 1950s, shortly before the two countries went to war with Indonesia. The disappearances highlight the ease with which government departments can commandeer official papers long after they have been declassified and made available to historians and the public at the archives at Kew, southwest London. A Freedom of Information Act request in 2014 showed that 9,308 files were returned to government departments in this way in 2011. The following year 7,122 files were loaned out, and 7,468 in 2013. The national archives says Whitehall departments are strongly encouraged to promptly return them, but they are not under any obligation to do so. “The national archives regularly sends lists to government departments of files that they have out on loan,” a spokesperson said. “If we are notified that a file is missing, we do ask what actions have been done and what action is being taken to find the file.” Some historians have been particularly distrustful of the foreign office since 2013, when the Guardian disclosed that the department had been unlawfully hoarding 1.2 million historical files at a high-security compound near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. The hoard came to light during high court proceedings brought by a group of elderly Kenyans who were detained and abused during the Mau Mau insurgency in 1950s Kenya, when the foreign office admitted it had withheld thousands of colonial-era files. A few years earlier, the ministry of defence refused to consider a number of files for release under the Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that they may have been exposed to asbestos. The files concerned such matters as arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UK special forces operations against Indonesia and interrogation techniques. The ministry of defence denied it was using the presence of asbestos in an old archive building as an excuse to suppress the documents. – Guardian News and Media 2017

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Image caption China has been hit by food scandals, including tainted baby milk formula Liang Jinfang is lucky her small Beijing apartment has relatively big cupboards. As a mother of an energetic one-year-old boy nicknamed Huhu, Ms Liang is deeply suspicious of locally produced food in China. Endless food safety scandals have led her to seek the safest possible sources of food for her child. The result? Every shelf and spare cupboard in the family's apartment is packed with imported food for Huhu, including a year's supply of milk powder shipped from Germany and organic rice cereal from the United States. "The government hasn't taken any measures to deal with the food scandals," Ms Liang said. "There is only one answer: you have to pay to find the best food for your child." Costly solution This solution is not cheap. Huhu's parents both have solid jobs working as railway engineers, but a large chunk of their earnings go towards imported baby food. Image caption Toddler Huhu only eats imported food "We spend so much on milk powder that my parents have to help us with our living costs so we can survive," Liang Jinfang admits. But it is no wonder these parents and millions like them are worried. In 2008, six infants died and 300,000 babies were affected with painful kidney stones after drinking tainted milk powder. An industrial chemical, melamine, was added to milk sold by several major Chinese dairies. Melamine falsely boosted the protein content in the milk. China's leaders have vowed to tighten the country's food safety regulations, but the food crises continue. Almost every item on Chinese store shelves, from rice to candy, has been involved in some sort of food scandal. Not only do many consumers worry about illegal additives to their food, they also question whether they are buying fake food. Just this year, more than 900 people were arrested across China for crimes involving imitation meat, including rat illegally substituted for mutton and sold in market stalls. So many people in China have developed their own coping strategies to deal with nagging worries about their food. Some, like Huhu's parents, hoard imported goods. Others choose to arm themselves with information. A host of smart phone applications have surfaced in the past year offering daily alerts on the latest food safety scandals. A cursory check of a single app warns users that a man in China's central Hunan province was arrested for selling bean sprouts that were illegally whitened with bleach. The next posting, from a user in Beijing, reveals that "black lumps that appeared to be mouse droppings" were found in a packaged pastry from a local grocery store. A photo illustrates each grisly report. Food tests Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption This device tests for contamination in baby formula milk Some consumers choose to protect themselves by becoming amateur food inspectors. Sales of home food safety tests are soaring online. The Zhiyunda Science and Technology Company, a private laboratory staffed by former food safety researchers, is doing brisk business. Originally they planned to develop instant food safety tests to sell to companies and government agencies. But now, at least 30% of their products are bought by individual consumers for use at home. "Whenever a food safety problem pops up, we produce a matching solution," said the company's deputy general manager, Li Jiangang. "In the European Union, they have horse meat masked as beef, but we have duck meat that's disguised as lamb. We have testers for that now too." The lab now sells more than 150 different tests to address a host of Chinese food concerns. Some big sellers look for toxins in cooking oil. Other tests check for excessive pesticides on leafy vegetables such as lettuce. Image caption Hundreds have been arrested this year for crimes involving imitation meat The company's most popular product? No surprise - it is a three minute detector that looks for contaminants in baby formula. "Actually, there are good brands of milk powder in the market, but people have no methods to tell right from wrong," Mr Li says. "Some mothers use our melamine testers on every bottle of milk they use." Back on the other side of Beijing, it's hard to imagine a test that would convince Huhu, the toddler's parents, to shop locally. Even the rice - the most Chinese of foods - their son eats is imported from Germany.

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Alabama - Fights between brothers and sisters aren't anything new, but rarely do they land the siblings in jail. It was a different story today in Cahaba Heights however. Demarcus Peoples, 22, and Brittany Peoples, 20 were arrested on domestic violence charges after an argument, over a sandwich of all things, authorities said. Brittany Peoples gave Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies this account: She left a sandwich in the refrigerator last night. Her brother proceeded to eat it without her permission. When she questioned him about it, he became violent and struck her several times. Demarcus Peoples tells it this way: His sister came into his room this morning, yelling about the sandwich. She tried to pour shampoo on him and then struck him with her hand several times, he said. Deputies were called to their Chestnut Ridge Lane home. Both refused medical treatment, and both were arrested on a third-degree charge of domestic violence. Their bonds were set at $300 each. "That must have been one good sandwich. I bet when Demarcus ate it he never dreamed it would be the catalyst to jail," said Chief Deputy Randy Christian. "I can just see his sister snapping when she realized her sandwich had been eaten. I completely understand that."

In the past few days, President Donald Trump has revealed that he does not know the definition of “collusion,” doesn’t understand what intelligence agencies do, and draws no distinction between the interests of national security and the protection of his own power. The first revelation is the most head-thumping. George Stephanopoulos, ABC News’ chief political correspondent, asked Trump in an interview what he would do if a foreign power offered him dirt on a political opponent in the upcoming election. Would he take it, or would he call the FBI? Trump said he’d take it. “It’s not an interference” in our election process, Trump said. “If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI.” But, he went on, there was nothing wrong with it. It’s “oppo research,” and nobody calls the FBI about these things. “The FBI doesn’t have enough agents to take care of it,” he went on, and “when you go and talk, honestly, to congressmen, they all do it, they always have, and that’s the way it is.” Stephanopoulos then quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray saying that the FBI would want to know, and should be informed, about any foreign meddling. Trump replied, “The FBI director is wrong.” And so the bar of standards, which has been steadily lowered since special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation began, has hit rock bottom. First, Trump denied that he or his campaign colluded with the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee’s emails. Then he denied that this collusion was illegal. Now he’s saying that it’s normal—and sending a signal to Russia, China, or any other foreign power with cyberoffensive capabilities that it’s fine with him if they do it again. Get Slate in Your Inbox We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The second revelation, Trump’s apparent indifference to the workings of U.S. intelligence agencies, occurred on Tuesday when the Wall Street Journal reported that Kim Jong-nam—Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, whom the North Korean leader very likely had murdered in February 2017—had been a CIA asset. Asked about the report, Trump told journalists that such an arrangement “wouldn’t happen under my auspices.” We all know of Trump’s odd fondness toward the world’s most murderous dictator. Shortly after their Singapore summit last year, Trump told a crowd of supporters at a rally that he and Kim “fell in love,” and at the impromptu news conference on Tuesday he mentioned another letter, containing positive news, that he’d just received from the chairman. But all intelligence agencies gather information on foreign powers (that’s what intelligence agencies do). It’s remarkable that the CIA managed to recruit any human sources from that sealed-off country, much less as well-connected a source as Kim’s half-brother (who, though he’d left his homeland some time ago, retained many connections and insights). It’s equally remarkable that the president of the United States essentially apologized for the intrusion and promised not to do it again. This wasn’t the first time that Trump has sided with authoritarian foreign leaders over the findings of his own government’s intelligence agencies. When Russian President Vladimir Putin told Trump that he’d had nothing to do with hacking Hillary Clinton’s email, Trump publicly said he believed the former KGB officer, even though U.S. intelligence agencies had unanimously concluded the contrary. When the Saudi royal family said they’d had nothing to do with the murder of U.S. resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump took them at their word—again, contrary to overwhelming evidence that they did. The third revelation—Trump’s conflating his own interests with those of U.S. national security—isn’t so much a revelation (there have been countless instances of Trump’s “l’etat, c’est moi” attitude) but rather an extension of the syndrome into new and dangerous territory. This is detailed in a front-page story in Thursday’s New York Times reporting that Attorney General William Barr wants to interview the CIA’s counterintelligence analysts about precisely how they concluded that Putin ordered the hacking of the 2016 election. It’s remarkable that the president of the United States essentially apologized to North Korea for the intrusion and promised not to do it again. That conclusion—reached by the entire U.S. intelligence community and affirmed by several oversight panels, including bipartisan committees on Capitol Hill—is probably based on “human intelligence” (high-level Russian officials spying for the United States) or “communications intelligence” (intercepts by the National Security Agency): in short, the most sensitive, highly classified information in the U.S. government. Barr is requesting this information as part of Trump’s campaign to “investigate the investigators”—to find out whether the Mueller team was politically motivated in going after the Trump campaign (a claim that Trump has made repeatedly). To that end, the president has authorized Barr to gain access to all relevant material and declassify it if he chooses. Clearly Trump has the legal authority to do this; the president can classify or declassify whatever he wants. But what are he and Barr really after here? Let’s say that Mueller’s team was politically motivated—that they set out on what Trump calls a “witch hunt” to bring him down. Quite independent of that, well before Mueller became special counsel (even before Trump was elected), U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the Kremlin had hacked the Democratic National Committee’s emails and directed a vast social media campaign against Clinton’s candidacy. Mueller’s team relied, and built on, those findings. Let’s say the agencies were wrong. (They’ve been wrong before.) That wouldn’t mean Mueller’s team was part of some conspiracy; it would only mean they erred in believing the agencies—unless you believe that the intelligence agencies, their overseers on Capitol Hill, the FBI, and Mueller’s team (which hadn’t been formed yet) were all part of a grand conspiracy to overthrow Trump. Trump has suggested he does believe this, with his talk of a “coup” by the “deep state.” Whatever you want to believe, there is nothing to be gained—no theory about Mueller’s team would be confirmed or disputed—by giving Barr the “sources and methods” behind the intelligence community’s conclusions. On what basis—with what training as an intelligence analyst—would Barr determine that the sources were unreliable or that the methods didn’t justify the conclusions? “This is a troubling direction that the Justice Dept. is taking,” Loch Johnson—former senior staff member of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, now Regents professor emeritus at the University of Georgia and the author of several books about the CIA and oversight—wrote me in an email on Thursday. “It smells like a political effort to aid and abet the President’s ongoing desire to discredit the Mueller report and the [congressional intelligence committees’] bipartisan conclusions.” Finally, there is another distressing factor to consider. I do not buy the theory that Trump is a longtime Russian asset, a “Siberian candidate” recruited to burrow his way into the White House and serve the Kremlin’s interests. The notion doesn’t make sense on a lot of levels. But Trump has been careless with top secrets. There was the time he casually gave Russian officials information that disclosed Israel as the source of intel on ISIS and Syria. From the time he entered office, some intelligence officials have nervously discussed what they should do if Trump asked for the name of a spy inside a foreign government. Trump surely has the right to such information, but the officials’ concerns stemmed from their knowledge that at least some people around Trump had discomfortingly close ties to foreign governments, including Russia. This is the bottom line on Trump’s suitability as president: It is an active debate—and no one can be certain—whether he can be trusted with the secrets on which presidents rely to do their job.

And Now, a Week of Full-On Terrorism Against Republicans Nice work @JeffFlake https://t.co/4AM0LYrXF3 — Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) September 28, 2018 Yesterday there was an attempt to incite people by publishing the personal information of Senators - including home addresses- endangering them & their families. This should be investigated & the perpetrators punished. There is too much hatred and violence in politics these days. — Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) September 28, 2018 Jeff Flake got trapped by protesters in an an elevator today. So he did the heroic thing -- he bent the knee to them and sold out the rest of the caucus, who can now expect the sane tactics directed at them. And then maybe the shooting. The left does like the shooting. More: Media Very Enthusiastic About Left's Direct Action. Will they be as enthusiastic about the right's "protesting" of the media? The way the media is talking this up, it's going to inspire a lot more of this sort of activism. https://t.co/F93JBsm2Wd — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) September 28, 2018

CAMRA members angry after Boxford brewer’s beer banned from East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival Tom Norton says he is disappointed that his new Suffolk sour beer has been banned by West Suffolk CAMRA's beer and cider festival at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. Picture: PHIL MORLEY Archant Officials have banned a talented young Boxford craft brewer from entering his very traditional ale into the East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival – because some people may not like the taste. Share Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. Tom Norton of the Little Earth Project, Edwardstone, whose traditional Suffolk sour beer has been rejected by the organisers of the East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival. Picture: GREGG BROWN Tom Norton of the Little Earth Project, Edwardstone, whose traditional Suffolk sour beer has been rejected by the organisers of the East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival. Picture: GREGG BROWN In an extraordinary move criticised by many CAMRA members, the organisation’s West Suffolk branch told Tom Norton they don’t want any of his Brett Terroir ale, 99% of which is brewed using Suffolk ingredients, at the event, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday at the Apex in Bury St Edmunds. In an email, the organisers said: “We would have loved to have one of your sour beers at our festival, especially a Suffolk one. However it was felt that an unknowing drinker trying the beer might think it was off. “OK, we would have told them that it isn’t but the fear is that they would use social media to spread this comment around to the detriment of the festival.” One angry CAMRA member said: “What utter nonsense – the whole point of a beer festival is that we can try out different ales. Of course this beer would have a taste that is different and not everyone would like it – but it is exactly how it would have been made in the heart of Suffolk a hundred years ago.” Tom and John Norton - Tom's new Suffolk sour beer, Brett Terroir, has been banned from being sold at a beer festival at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds next week. Picture: GREGG BROWN Tom and John Norton - Tom's new Suffolk sour beer, Brett Terroir, has been banned from being sold at a beer festival at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds next week. Picture: GREGG BROWN Mr Norton said: “I was very disappointed. The Brett Terroir is made with local ingredients – some from fields within sight of our brewery near Boxford. We have tried the beer in real ale pubs in Colchester and Norwich and it has gone down very well.” However, in spite of the ban on draught Brett Terroir, some of Mr Norton’s beers will be available in bottles at the festival from a stall run by Bury’s independent beer shop Beautiful Beers. Mr Norton, who runs the Little Earth Project, at Edwardstone, added: “Brewing a modern clean beer the brewer will know how the finished beer should taste long before the grain, hops, yeast and water combine. “But sour beers by their very nature were unpredictable – aged in oak with plenty of yeast and bacteria no two barrels are the same. Tom Norton, of the Little Earth Project, Edwardstone. Picture: GREGG BROWN Tom Norton, of the Little Earth Project, Edwardstone. Picture: GREGG BROWN “Here we monitor the flavours created over months and then decide what would enhance and complement them. This beer should have a salt and a peppery bite to complement the earthy almost savoury nature of the beer.” The West Suffolk branch of CAMRA, who are organising the festival, were asked about the ban but refused to comment.

Uncomfortable Situation Seal having loud fun with girlfriend hear my neighbor sneeze these captions aren't guaranteed to be correct

El presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador al anunciar la entrega de la "Cartilla Moral". Imagen: Captura de video Al hacer click en enviar quedaras regitrad@ a nuestro boletín el cual podrás cancelar en cualquier momento;no olvides revisar tu carpeta de spam. CIUDAD DE MÉXICO Durante el arranque del Programa de Pensiones a Adultos Mayores, el presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador entregó la “Cartilla Moral” que tiene la finalidad de fortalecer los valores e impulsar la convivencia armónica y el “respeto a la pluralidad y a la diversidad”. Durante el acto, en el que estuvo acompañado del gobernador del Estado de México, Alfredo del Mazo, el mandatario destacó que con esta publicación se busca moralizar la vida pública del país y hacer frente a la corrupción. Es preferible dejar a los hijos pobreza, pero no deshonra. Tenemos que moralizar la vida pública de México. Por eso va a empezar a distribuirse esta cartilla moral porque tenemos que fortalecer los valores culturales, morales, espirituales. No sólo lograr el bienestar material, sino también el bienestar del alma”, afirmó. Explicó la “Cartilla Moral”, escrita por Alfonso Reyes, será entrega a los 2 millones 500 mil beneficiarios del programa de Pensiones a Adultos Mayores, por lo que los llamó a leerla para fortalecer los valores de la familia. “Esto nos va a llevar a una sociedad mejor. Antes teníamos más valores y seguimos teniendo, pues los corruptos no han podido acabar con ellos. Debemos fortalecerlos”, aseveró el presidente. Esta mañana, López Obrador puso en marcha en el municipio de Valle de Chalco el inicio de este programa de apoyos a adultos de la tercera edad, a quienes mensualmente se les entregará una ayuda económica de 2 mil 550 pesos. Detalló que este programa, para el que se tienen destinados 100 mil millones de pesos, arrancará mañana con la entrega a apoyos a 2 millones 500 mil adultos mayores, número que confió incremente a 8 millones 500 mil para febrero. Te puede interesar: Califican de valiente medida de López Obrador contra huachicol *jci La ley de derechos de autor prohíbe estrictamente copiar completa o parcialmente los materiales de Excélsior sin haber obtenido previamente permiso por escrito y sin incluir el link al texto original.

To Nathaniel Macon Monticello, January 12, 1819 DEAR SIR, -- The problem you had wished to propose to me was one which I could not have solved; for I knew nothing of the facts. I read no newspaper now but Ritchie's, and in that chiefly the advertisements, for they contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. I feel a much greater interest in knowing what has passed two or three thousand years ago, than in what is now passing. I read nothing, therefore, but of the heroes of Troy, of the wars of Lacedaemon and Athens, of Pompey and Caesar, and of Augustus too, the Bonaparte and parricide scoundrel of that day. I have had, and still have, such entire confidence in the late and present Presidents, that I willingly put both soul and body into their pockets. While such men as yourself and your worthy colleagues of the legislature, and such characters as compose the executive administration, are watching for us all, I slumber without fear, and review in my dreams the visions of antiquity. There is, indeed, one evil which awakens me at times, because it jostles me at every turn. It is that we have now no measure of value. I am asked eighteen dollars for a yard of broadcloth, which, when we had dollars, I used to get for eighteen shillings; from this I can only understand that a dollar is now worth but two inches of broadcloth, but broadcloth is no standard of measure or value. I do not know, therefore, whereabouts I stand in the scale of property, nor what to ask, or what to give for it. I saw, indeed, the like machinery in action in the years '80 and '81, and without dissatisfaction; because in wearing out, it was working out our salvation. But I see nothing in this renewal of the game of "Robin's alive" but a general demoralization of the nation, a filching from industry its honest earnings, wherewith to build up palaces, and raise gambling stock for swindlers and shavers, who are to close too their career of piracies by fraudulent bankruptcies. My dependence for a remedy, however, is with the wisdom which grows with time and suffering. Whether the succeeding generation is to be more virtuous than their predecessors, I cannot say; but I am sure they will have more worldly wisdom, and enough, I hope, to know that honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. I have made a great exertion to write you thus much; my antipathy to taking up a pen being so intense that I have never given you a stronger proof, than in the effort of writing a letter, how much I value you, and of the superlative respect and friendship with which I salute you.

Donald Trump may be dancing with the devil in 2016 according to POLITICO's Roger Simon. | AP Photo Simon Says The Devil and Donald Trump Alone in his bedroom on a dark and stormy night, Donald Trump was inventing some tax returns, when the devil appeared before him. “Fear not,” the devil said. “You need not file tax returns. Ever. Also, I will make sure you are elected president this year and again in 2020. “But in return, you must sell me your soul. You must betray all decent principles. You must pander, trivialize and deceive. You must gain victory by exploiting bigotry, fear, envy and greed. And you must conduct a campaign based on lies, sham, hype and distortion.” “So?” Trump said. “What’s the catch?” It could have been worse. The devil could have asked Trump to prove he really had “bone spurs” that kept him out of the Vietnam draft. Or prove he knew that Crimea was part of Russia. Or prove that he knew anything about the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution! Jeez, Louise! Nobody told Trump that was going to be on the final. And now everybody on his staff was running around screaming and shouting as if presidents had to know stuff. At the very beginning of his campaign, Trump had put together what he called his “Brain Gang” made up of political experts (whom none of the other campaigns would hire). A few months later, the leader of the Brain Gang would be ... what’s-his-name. The guy who looked like he combed his hair with teeth whitener. Pence. That was it. Mike Pence. Mr. Personality. But who had vetted Pence? And speaking of vetting, they couldn’t have found a veteran to put on the ticket? Trump went over to the World Wide Interweb machine that his kids had bought him so they wouldn’t have to answer his questions. Trump typed in: “How many veterans are there in the United States.” The machine answered instantly: “There are 21.8 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces as of 2014, according the Census Bureau ... ” In 2012, neither party had a veteran on the ticket, which was the first time since 1932. Both Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, have sons in the Marines. The last veteran to be on a major party ticket was John McCain in 2008. McCain, a retired Navy captain, was ridiculed by Trump for being captured by the North Vietnamese. But here it was, 2016, and some bald guy with a round head, Khizr Khan, takes a copy of the Constitution from his suit jacket pocket and says Trump didn’t know what was in the document and how Trump had “sacrificed nothing” for his country. Trump knew a trap when he saw one. He went over to his Interweb machine and found out the Constitution could not possibly be kept in a jacket pocket. In fact, the Constitution is on display in a row of large glass cases in the Rotunda of the National Archives Museum. You would need a crane to lift it. So Khizr Khan lies, and this was one of the rare times that Trump had proof. “Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same — Nice!” Trump tweeted Monday. “This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews,” Trump also tweeted, “but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S. Get smart!” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos had gotten all snippy about the whole thing on Sunday, asking Trump why Khan had accused Trump of sacrificing nothing for his country. And, when you think about it, Trump had not only sacrificed nothing personally to fight RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM, but in his almost 71 years on this planet, it appears Trump had never done much, if any, public service whatsoever. This might not be so striking, except that prior public service used to be considered a prerequisite for election to the presidency. So Stephanopoulos ran the TV clip of Khan denouncing Trump. And this is what followed: Stephanopoulos: “He said you have sacrificed nothing and no one.” Trump: “Well, that sounds — who wrote that? Did Hillary scriptwriters write it?” Stephanopoulos: “How would you answer that father? What sacrifice have you made for your country?” Trump: “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.” Stephanopoulos: “Those are sacrifices?” Trump: “Oh, sure. I think they’re sacrifices.” And, in a way, Trump may be correct. As to the “great structures” he has built, Trump has sacrificed almost all sense of taste, artfulness, style and creativity. So maybe he did that deal with the devil after all. Roger Simon is POLITICO's chief political columnist.

Samuel L. Jackson is joining the cast of the “Saw” horror franchise reboot that stars comedian Chris Rock, it was announced Monday. Max Minghella and Rock’s partner Marisol Nichols are also joining the cast of the film, which is in production now and is still untitled. Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures are releasing the re-imagined take on the franchise about a serial killer named Jigsaw who traps his victims in a labyrinth of games, puzzles and traps as the helpless victims fight for their survival. In the new film, Rock will play a police detective investigating a series of grizzly crimes, and Jackson will play Rock’s father. Minghella will play William Schenk, Rock’s partner on the police force, and Nichols will play Capt. Angie Garza, Rock’s boss. Also Read: Samuel L Jackson Calls Out 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Poster That Swaps Nick Fury's Eye Patch Rock is executive producing the new “Saw” film, and the story is in part based on his love of the franchise. Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed three of the “Saw” installments,” is returning to direct, as are producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules. Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg wrote the screenplay. Daniel Heffner and the original creators of “Saw,” James Wan and Leigh Whannell, are executive producing with Rock. “We think Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Rock along with Max Minghella and Marisol Nichols make this film completely special in the Saw canon and we can’t wait to unleash this unexpected and sinister new story on fans of this franchise. This is next level of ‘Saw’ on full tilt,” Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate motion picture group, said in a statement. Jackson most recently starred in “Shaft” and “Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

Added with that hat, Twilight looks so dang adorable. Also, love the new battle outfit, hope we'll see it more often.